Swney faces Serious Fraud Office inquiry

Alex Swney pleaded guilty to four counts of tax evasion.

The Auckland businessman facing jail for evading taxes of nearly $1.8 million could face further charges.

Former Heart of the City boss Alex Gordon Swney, 57, shocked many yesterday when he pleaded guilty to the IRD-laid charges at the Auckland District Court, at what was expected to be a hearing to set his trial date.

The four representative charges covered 12 years of offending and $1,757,147 of unpaid taxes.

Yesterday, the Serious Fraud Office confirmed it, too, was investigating Swney. A spokeswoman would not divulge details of the inquiry, or when it was likely to be completed.

Heart of the City - a city centre business association registered by Swney in 1994 - has income-tax exemption on the basis it was created to develop or increase amenities for the Auckland public.

But the defendant was a contractor of the organisation as the sole director of AGS Services and the services he provided were taxable.

Judge Grant Fraser said there was an "inevitability" about the outcome of Swney's sentencing in April but it might get worse for the disgraced entrepreneur.

The IRD charges come with a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $50,000.

When the charges were initially laid, a summary of facts filed by the IRD alleged Swney had issued "various fictitious invoices" to Heart of the City.

Investigators interviewed several organisations - including the Herald - over the authenticity of the invoices and determined they were created "without authorisation".

Swney is also on the end of a civil action launched by Heart of the City, whose board announced the move last month after accountants scoured their finances.

At court on Wednesday the defendant's lawyer Murray Gibson said they hoped to have everything dealt with on the April sentencing date.

"It's in the best interests of everyone that all matters get resolved at the same time."