Millionaire runaway fights for bail

Leo Gao Hui is taken from Eastern Magistrates Court after being arrested by members of Interpol. Photo / Supplied

He is accused of fleeing New Zealand with $6.6 million - and still has enough money to put up a bond.

Accidental millionaire Leo Gao was arrested in Hong Kong on Thursday.

He appeared in the Eastern Magistrates Court in Sai Wan after being captured and requested bail - his lawyer offered a $16,000 bond, as well as a $7000 personal guarantee and the promise Gao would live in a hotel. The application was rejected.

The South China Morning Post reported Gao wore a white T-shirt and jeans in court yesterday, and looked "nothing like the millionaire who had lived it up in Macau and Hong Kong".

The paper reported Gao had been working in Shenzhen as a financial clerk.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman said Gao had been offered consular assistance, in line with standard policy offered to citizens and permanent residents.

Gao will be behind bars until his next court appearance on November 28.

Prosecutors were waiting for the New Zealand Government to formally request to extradite Gao.

He fled with Kara Hurring and her 7-year-old daughter to Macau in 2009 after $10 million was accidentally deposited into their bank account.

Hurring returned to New Zealand this year and faces 26 charges, including theft and money laundering. Her daughter is believed to be in China with relatives.

- additional reporting by staff reporters