The four people charged by the Serious Fraud Office over donations to the National Party can now be named.
One of them is former National MP and current independent MP for Botany Jami-Lee Ross, who initially complained to police over one of the donations.
The others are Yikun Zhang, Shijia Zheng and Hengjia Zheng.
The four are charged over a $100,050 donation made to the National Party in June 2018.
The SFO alleges: "The defendants adopted a fraudulent device, trick, or stratagem whereby the 2018 donation was split into sums of money less than $15,000, and transferred into the bank accounts of eight different people, before being paid to, and retained by, the National Party."
Jami-Lee Ross, Yikun Zhang and Shijia Zheng are also charged with the same offence in relation to a second $100,000 donation in June 2017.
The former National MP recorded his conversation with the Naitonal Party leader.
Hengjia Zheng isn’t charged in relation to the 2017 donation, but is charged with supplying false or misleading information to the Serious Fraud Office during the investigation.
Under the Electoral Act, donations of $15,000 or less don’t have to be declared by political parties. But if multiple donations from one person add up to more than $15,000, they do have to be declared.
The MP says foreigners only have to set up a New Zealand company in order to make political donations.
Mr Ross publicly fell out with National leader Simon Bridges in 2018 prior to his exit from the party. Mr Ross accused Mr Bridges of corruption over the 2018 donation and laid a complaint with police.
Police then referred the matter to the Serious Fraud Office who in January laid the charges. Mr Bridges maintains that allegations against both him and the National Party were baseless.
Yikun Zhang is a prominent businessman and in 2018 was awarded the New Zealand Order or Merit for services to New Zealand-China relations and the Chinese community.
Mr Ross made a number of claims about the National Party leader in relation to donations. Mr Bridges has denied any wrongdoing.
Yikun Zhang, Shijia Zheng and Hengjia Zheng initially sought, and were granted interim name suppression, a ruling covering all four defendants. Yesterday they asked for that to be urgently lifted.
Today, lawyers for Mr Ross told the court that Mr Ross never intended to ask for name suppression and was happy to be named.
Mr Ross’ lawyers said, "Given his role as a sitting Member of Parliament, [Mr Ross] would prefer to be able to be open and transparent regarding the fact that he has been charged, even though he was the whistleblower - the party that made the complaint to the police. He is eager to publicly refute the charges."
In a statement released shortly after the suppression lifted, Mr Ross wrote that he had "never been involved in any deception to do with donations".
"I will say all that I need to say when I am permitted to do so."
Mr Ross said he was being painted as a "scapegoat".
"Any suggestion that I might be behind any deception is simply untrue."
The now independent MP spoke to media today.
In a statement released by company Pead PR, on behalf of Mr Zhang and Shijia Zheng and Hengjia Zheng, it says the men were "fully aware of the public interest in this case and the need to respect the integrity of the New Zealand electoral system".
"It is for this reason they have asked for name suppression to be lifted and for the process surrounding the charges to be open and transparent.
"Our clients are proud New Zealanders and philanthropists. They were urged to follow a process and are now deeply disappointed at being caught up in a donations fiasco.
"Our clients believe they are casualties of the turmoil created through mudslinging during the high-profile fallout following Jami-Lee Ross’ revelations and allegations about the National Party and will be defending the charges against them."
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