Wellington - Prosecutors on Wednesday downgraded charges against a woman who allegedly fled New Zealand with her partner after a bank mistakenly deposited millions of dollars into his account.
Police accuse Kara Hurring of departing for China with partner Hui (Leo) Gao when Westpac bank accidentally placed NZ$10 million (US$8.4 million) into his account in April 2009 after he requested a NZ$100 000 dollar overdraft.
The error was discovered within days but by then some NZ$6.78 million had allegedly been transferred into other accounts and the pair had left the country.
Hurring, 32, who was arrested after voluntarily returning to New Zealand on February 25, was initially charged with stealing NZ$6.78 million and eight counts of money laundering.
But police said the original charges had been withdrawn and replaced with one count of stealing NZ$11 000 and two counts of money laundering HK$1.5 million ($192,000) in Macau.
Detective senior sergeant Mark Loper did not reveal why the charges had been downgraded but said the allegations against Hurring remained “very serious”.
“The investigation has been, and will continue to be, very complex, due to the fact that it is a trans-national investigation,” he said in a statement.
“But we remain committed to ensuring that those responsible are held to account for their actions.”
Loper said “police are still actively seeking Mr Gao in relation to the theft”.
New Zealand media reports said last year that Gao was still believed to be on the run in China's southern Guangdong province. New Zealand has no extradition treaty with China.
Hurring reportedly separated from Gao last year after a “gambling blowout” in Macau then contacted New Zealand police about returning home. - Sapa-AFP