All five men charged with corporate fraud following the collapse of South Canterbury Finance have been publicly named.
The remaining two accused men did not seek to continue their name suppression following a hearing at Timaru District Court on Monday.
They are Timaru lawyer Ed Sullivan, 70, and retired accountant Bob White, 68, both former SCF directors. Both men issued statements through their lawyers, denying the charges and saying they will be defended.
The other three accused are former company chief executive Lachie McLeod, Terry Hutton and former company finance officer Graeme Brown.
The five are charged with 21 offences relating to $1.7 billion worth of transactions, brought by the Serious Fraud Office following the collapse of SCF in 2010.
It is the largest case of alleged corporate fraud in New Zealand, and the charges include theft by a person in a special relationship, obtaining by deception, false statements by the promoter of a company and false accounting. They carry maximum penalties of between seven and 10 years’ imprisonment on conviction.
The company’s collapse triggered a government payout to investors under the Crown Retail Deposit Guarantee Scheme.
Company founder Alan Hubbard died in a road accident last year.
The original article can be found at 3news