The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has initiated an appeal against two of the not guilty verdicts in the criminal trial tied to the insolvency of CBL Insurance.
A few weeks ago, CBL's former chief executive, Peter Harris, was acquitted of charges brought by the SFO following the downfall of CBL, once valued at $750 million and with numerous KiwiSaver funds among its investors.
Harris, who faced the possibility of a jail sentence if convicted, was exonerated on all eight charges laid against him by Justice Michael Robinson at the High Court in Auckland.
Carden James Mulholland, CBL's former chief financial officer, also emerged with a clean slate as he was found not guilty of three charges involving theft by a person in a special relationship, obtaining by deception, and false accounting.
In a report from Stuff, Harris disclosed that Crown Law had served notice to his legal counsel, indicating an appeal against two of the eight not guilty verdicts. Specifically, Crown Law is contending that the judgement in Harris's case was erroneous regarding two of the charges he had been cleared of.
The SFO officially confirmed that the deputy solicitor-general filed a Notice of Application for Leave to Appeal with the Court of Appeal.
“The appeal is disappointing but not entirely surprising. This entire CBL saga has been a case of dealing with parties like the Reserve Bank Te Pūtea Matua, and Serious Fraud Office, who simply have never accepted that they could ever be wrong,” Harris said.
Harris also offered an apology to his family and supporters in that they “have to suffer through this process yet again,” and expressed full confidence in his legal team and the court to fight this appeal.
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