Police raid on bankrupt developer ruled unlawful

David Henderson, pictured in 2006. Photo / NZME.

Search warrants for a police raid on two properties tenanted by Christchurch businessman David Henderson have been declared unlawful by a High Court Judge.

The execution of those search warrants in April 2011 were also inconsistent with the Bill of Rights Act, the judge said.

Henderson is a well-known businessman and property developer who was bankrupted for a second time in November 2010 with debts totalling more than $140 million.

The following March, a liquidator of Henderson-linked companies complained to police that these firms were allegedly failing to comply with orders to supply records.

After a police application, a District Court judge issued warrants allowing officers to enter and search for records at two red-zoned Christchurch properties tenanted by a company associated with Henderson.

These were executed in April 2011, with computers and thousands of documents being seized during the raid.

Henderson has long-challenged the validity of the search and last year began a claim against the Attorney-General, seeking declarations the warrants were unlawful.

Henderson, and companies linked to him, also sought thousands of dollars in damages and a declaration the raids breached the Bill of Rights Act.

They alleged that the application for the warrants contained wrong or misleading information and that, because of the validity of the warrants, the search and seizure was unreasonable.

Although the case was due to go to trial later this month, it was called off after both sides cut a deal.

As a result, Justice David Gendall has declared that the search warrants were unlawful and their execution was inconsistent with the New Zealand Bill of Rights Act.

All other parts of the claim have been withdrawn and the parties will pay their own court costs.

"It has taken four years, and being a few weeks away from a court hearing, to finally get them [the police] to acknowledge what was painfully clear from day one," Henderson told the Herald this afternoon.