Ex-MP sent for trial

A former MP has been committed to trial with three others charged in connection with a $1.8 million pokie scam.

All four, who have name suppression, were committed for trial after a depositions hearing in Auckland District Court last week.

The alleged swindle involved Auckland tennis clubs, a charity donating books to children and a variety of companies set up around gaming machines between 2003 and 2005.

One accused, an Auckland businessman, will have a callover in the High Court at Auckland this month on eight charges. He has also been committed on five charges to a callover in Auckland District Court in December.

He will be joined there by his wife, the ex-MP and a Christchurch man, all of whom face two charges.