A trial is due to be held next year in the High Court at Auckland for the prominent businessman. Photo / File
A trial is due to be held next year in the High Court at Auckland for the prominent businessman. Photo / File
A wealthy and prominent New Zealand businessman facing indecent assault and corruption charges has failed in his bid to vary his bail conditions.
The man has been on bail for more than three years after initially being charged with indecent assault in February 2017.
He has also remained anonymous ashe continues to maintain interim name suppression since then, despite opposition by the Herald and Stuff.
On Friday, the businessman's lawyer, Queen's Counsel David Jones, asked Justice Geoffrey Venning to vary his client's bail conditions.
The application sought to alter the condition limiting contact between the wealthy Kiwi and his business manager, who is charged alongside him with attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The manager's lawyer, Rachael Reed QC, was also at the hearing.
However, in his decision released to the Herald on Sunday, Justice Venning dismissed the variation application.
Section 19 of the Bail Act prevents the Herald on Sunday from publishing further details about the hearing or any of the material and legal arguments contained in Justice Venning's ruling.
The well-known New Zealander was due to stand trial in June, however, it was abandoned because of social distancing conditions imposed on the justice system to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite facing serious criminal charges, however, the wealthy businessman has been allowed to travel overseas, the Herald earlier revealed.
He has not been ordered to surrender his passport and sources tell the Herald he travelled as far as Europe before the Covid-19 crisis.
The Herald on Sunday understands that police have offered no opposition to the wealthy Kiwi requesting to fly out of New Zealand to fulfil his business interests.
After first being charged for allegedly sexual assaulting a man in 2016, the businessman was then accused of earlier indecently assaulting a second man in 2008.
He was also later charged with two counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice for allegedly trying to dissuade the 2016 complainant from giving evidence at his trial.
The attempted perversion charges were laid alongside his business manager and a well-known entertainer.
Both men are accused of helping the wealthy Kiwi attempt to stop the complainant from testifying during a meeting on the Gold Coast in May 2017 with the alleged victim.
A new trial is now due to be held in February in the High Court at Auckland.
All three accused men also had their appeals for continued name suppression dismissed by Justice Venning last year, but their identities will stay hidden for now to "protect fair trial rights".
Two witnesses, who are expected to give evidence in the trial, have also had their name suppression appeals dismissed. But they still can't be named without risk of identifying the businessman.
The duo, a man and woman, are expected to give evidence for the Crown and have been granted immunity from prosecution by the Solicitor-General.
A well-known political figure - whose name is suppressed and has not been charged - may also give evidence for the Crown.
