Former National MP Jami-Lee Ross and three Chinese businessmen have pleaded not guilty to fraud charges arising from a series of donations to the National Party.
Ross, along with Yikun Zhang, Shijia (Colin) Zheng and Hengjia (Joe) Zheng, have been charged by the Serious Fraud Office over two $100,000 donations the SFO alleges were broken up to slide under the disclosure threshold.
Today all four of the men entered not guilty pleas at the Auckland District Court.
The court has ordered them to surrender their passports by 5pm.
As he headed into court today, Botany MP Ross told 1 NEWS he “just wants to get through” his first court appearance.
Flanked by his lawyers, the former National MP told media he’d speak to them after his first appearance.
The three businessmen also charged by the Serious Fraud Office made no comment as they headed into court.
The case has been remanded until June.
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