A lawyer and three other people charged in a $40m mortgage fraud case have pleaded not guilty.
Four people charged in a $40m mortgage fraud case have pleaded not guilty.
A lawyer, manager, banker and director are the occupations of the four charged in a mortgage fraud case, according to court documents.
The case involved more than $40 million of loans and accusations of kickbacks to bank employees, the NZ Herald reports.
The charges facing the four include obtaining by deception over information provided to secure more than $40m in mortgages on dozens of properties within the cities of Hamilton and Auckland.
Three were also charged with breaching the Secret Commissions Act.
Those charges allege that payments between $5000 to more than $30,000, were paid by and to bank staff as reward for approving suspect mortgage applications.
Total kickbacks paid allegedly exceeded $500,000, according to the Serious Fraud Office.
The not guilty pleas were made during a short hearing in the Auckland District Court on Friday and the case will continue in court in March 2017.
