23 Jan 2012

Decision reserved on bail for $6 million man

11:43 am on 23 January 2012

The man accused of stealing more than $6 million from Westpac Bank has appeared in Rotorua District Court for a second bail hearing.

Hui Gao, known as Leo Gao, faces 16 charges of theft and two of money laundering.

A $10 million overdraft was mistakenly loaded into his account in 2009.

The defence lawyer told the court his client sought electronic monitoring bail and said he believed there was no evidence he would be at risk of leaving the country.

The prosecution opposed bail and said the flight risk was heightened in this case because of the amount of money still outstanding.

The court heard about $4 million of the overall sum has not been recovered.

The judge reserved his decision.