An Auckland woman convicted of laundering millions for an international drug kingpin has won a further deferral of her record-breaking sentence, allowing her to stay out of prison for Christmas.
Ye “Cathay” Hua was sentenced in November to seven and a half years in prison, by far the longest term handed down in New Zealand for money laundering.
In a trial earlier this year a jury found her guilty of laundering at least $18 million, mostly at the behest of Xavier Valent, who masterminded one of New Zealand’s largest drug syndicates from his exile abroad.
He co-ordinated the importation and distribution of masses of meth and other drugs during his heyday from 2016 until his arrest at the Italian border and extradition in 2020.
Valent lived a lavish lifestyle while on the run from Kiwi authorities overseas but is now serving a life sentence in the same maximum security unit of Auckland Prison as the Christchurch terrorist.
At her sentencing on November 17, Judge David Sharp deferred the start of Hua’s sentence by 10 days on humanitarian grounds at the request of her then lawyer, David Jones KC.
He argued she needed time to arrange her affairs given she had vulnerable and dependent family members.
Hua then lodged an appeal of both her conviction and sentence, the Court of Appeal has confirmed.
One further deferral of sentence was granted by the District Court and Hua, who was granted bail long before her trial, has not returned to custody.
The 58-year-old was back in the Auckland District Court on Thursday morning where a new set of lawyers, Nick Chisnall KC and Yvonne Mortimer-Wang, sought for bail to continue, pending determination of the appeal.
Strict rules governing bail hearings set out in the Bail Act prevent the publication of the positions taken or arguments advanced by the defence, Crown or the Herald in court.
What can be reported is that Judge Sharp granted the application for Hua to remain on bail ahead of a hearing in the High Court at Auckland on January 17.
Hua’s colourful trial charted her rise in the business world after she immigrated to New Zealand from China, where the devout Christian’s family were badly out of favour with the Communist Party.
She was seeking a better life, and she found one.
The trained microbiologist moved in with her father and found work first as a laboratory technician, before becoming a successful businesswoman.
She welcomed two more children - and spent a couple of years on maternity leave - to join her two children who were born in China, obtained citizenship in 2000 and opened Kenzie Cafe on Auckland’s Remuera Rd in 2003.
The business thrived and it opened another branch in Epsom. Hua sold up a few years later and used the proceeds to start Lidong Foreign Exchange, a money-changing and overseas remitting business in Newmarket’s Kent St.
Despite its unassuming location in a small shop tucked behind a movie theatre, the business would thrive. At its peak Hua was turning over $82 million in transactions per year.
The proceeds from Lidong would help Hua and her husband purchase a palatial St Heliers property in Springcombe Rd overlooking the water.
About a decade after opening Lidong, Hua would be referred by an associate to a customer who went by various aliases, including Zeus and Global Trading.
He would turn out to be Valent, the young Auckland man who rose from petty criminal and small-time drug dealer to become a 21st-century Mr Asia.
From his exile overseas on the run from Kiwi authorities, he ran a massive drug importation syndicate from 2016 until his arrest on an Interpol warrant at the Italian border in 2020.
Valent was jailed for life on dozens of drugs charges earlier this year and some of the evidence amassed by police in their investigation into the syndicate was used in a subsequent money laundering investigation - dubbed Operation Ida - into Hua’s business.
Operation Ida was run by Detective Sergeant Anna Henson, who told the court her team installed a covert listening device in Lidong in 2020 and obtained hundreds of hours of conversations.
Ida investigators also obtained warrants to intercept phone calls and screeds of additional evidence was obtained from Lidong’s computers seized by police.
Police swooped in March 2021, executing simultaneous raids on Lidong in Newmarket and Hua’s St Heliers home.
A jury found Hua guilty of 15 out of 19 money laundering charges in July in a three-week trial.
All charges, carrying a maximum penalty of seven years each, alleged she either knew the cash was the proceeds of crime, or was at least reckless as to whether the money was ill-gotten gains.
Crown prosecutor Sam McMullan said it was a case without comparison in New Zealand history.
“By value, Ms Hua’s offending is many magnitudes more serious than any other case which has been before a court in this country,” McMullan said.
Most of the charges covered money allegedly sent overseas into foreign currency from Lidong, or converted into bitcoin, at the request of Valent.
The remainder of the charges covered transactions with two low-level drug dealers and a former key lieutenant of Valent’s, who became the star witness for the Crown at Hua’s trial.
He gave crucial evidence that helped seal her fate and was granted anonymity and immunity from prosecution on some charges.
The witness said the cash could become wet or sticky - one of the key red flags in the Crown case - because it was being handled by people who were manufacturing or using meth.
Valent was a micromanager during the period he was travelling the globe on the run from late 2016 to his eventual arrest at the Italian border in 2020.
He would tell her when to expect one of his associates to arrive at Lidong in Newmarket, dubbed the “money shop” or “Newmarket money lady” in messages obtained by police.
Asked at the trial what was meant by the money shop, the secret witness was unequivocal.
“That’s Cathay’s money shop. Number 1 Kent St, Newmarket.”
The amount of money Hua laundered was the subject of dispute prior to sentencing. The Crown contended it was $26m while the defence said about $6m to $10m was more accurate.
Judge Sharp said he had concluded at least $18m was laundered across the 15 charges.
McMullan sought a starting point of 13 years in prison.
“Any mitigation provided to her ought to be tempered by the scale of her offending and the duration,” he said.
Hua’s then lawyer, David Jones KC, made much at her trial of what he and witnesses described as her trusting nature that could extend to naivety and gullibility.
At sentencing, Jones compared her situation to a scam victim whom others might view as stupid, but who would say “Well, I trusted them”.
Judge Sharp said he did not see the seven-year maximum on each of the individual money-laundering charges as limiting, given the duration of her offending.
He adopted a starting point of 10 years, tempered with discounts for personal circumstances and good character, as testified in a large volume of letters placed before the court from family, former employees, and churchgoers and ministers.
The end sentence comprised cumulative sentences of six years for the first five charges, and a year and a half for the rest.
“On any appreciation this is an extreme case of money laundering,” Judge Sharp said.
This summer will be critical to discover if the sharks have started returning.