Lawyers for the four former directors of Lombard Finance and Investment have continued their High Court challenge to the relevance of certain evidence the Crown wants to bring in their upcoming criminal trial in October.
Lawyers for the four former directors of Lombard Finance and Investment have continued their High Court challenge to the relevance of certain evidence the Crown wants to bring in their upcoming criminal trial in October.
At a pre-trial hearing in Wellington today, expected to last all week, Justice Robert Dobson heard further grounds for evidence being challenged, on top of what he was told on the first day of the hearing on June 9.
The latest grounds for having evidence ruled inadmissible or irrelevant in the trial of former high ranking cabinet ministers Sir Douglas Graham and Bill Jeffries, along with Michael Reeves and Lawrence Bryant, included whether the receivers for Lombard disclosed unauthorised information, whether certain witnesses had the expertise to make the comments they had and whether one of those witnesses was independent.
None of the four accused appeared in court today.
The Securities Commission has alleged Lombard’s offered documents and advertisements which misled investors by misrepresenting the investment risks, especially in relation to liquidity, the quality of the loan book, adherence to credit policies and the company’s overall financial position.
The trial, being heard by Justice Dobson alone, is scheduled to begin on October 12.
