Documents will clear Peters, says lawyer
Documents will clear Peters, says lawyer
Lawyer Peter Williams QC says he is confident information passed to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on Saturday will produce a rapid clearance of his high-profile client, New Zealand First leader Minister Winston Peters.
"I'm very confident that there will be an absolute clearance for Mr Peters in a relatively short period of time," he said after a "cordial" meeting with two SFO staff.
Peters on Friday stepped aside as Foreign Affairs Minister until the outcome of the SFO investigation into the fate of donations made to his party is known.
Saturday's meeting in Auckland with senior SFO executive Gib Beattie was to hand over documents, including a statement from the Spencer Trust - which received political donations - to show the money was used as intended.
The SFO would act in a genuine way and come to a quick decision, Williams said.
"Obviously, they have to check the information we have given them: we gave them copies of entries on the Trust statement, and they will check them out with the banks," he said. "It shouldn't take very much."
The Trust statement was issued by Peters' brother, Wayne Peters, a Whangarei lawyer and Spencer Trust administrator.
Williams said Prime Minister Helen Clark had handled the matter with "dignity and serenity" but he criticised National leader John Key and ACT leader Rodney Hide for making hasty judgements.
"I believe that eventually justice will triumph and that in this case there will be an absolute clearance and there will hopefully be apologies from all those who have been severely prejudicial and haven't look at the facts."
He said the SFO originally wanted to see him on Monday, but he did not want the matter dragging on through the weekend.
The SFO decided to hold the inquiry after examining information which director Grant Liddell said led him to suspect there might be a case of "serious and complex" fraud.
Williams said Peters had been the subject of a witchhunt by a number of journalists and politicians, and was completely innocent of any wrongdoing.
If the investigation clears the New Zealand First Party of allegations that donations were misused, Peters is expected to seek reinstatement as foreign minister.
If it doesn't, he will have no further role in the present government or the next, and his campaign for re-election will be seriously compromised.
Meanwhile, Parliament's privileges committee has invited Peters, lawyer Brian Henry and expatriate businessman Owen Glenn to give evidence next week.
The committee is considering whether Peters should have declared a $100,000 donation from Glenn towards legal bills in 2005.
The committee is expected to hold a closed three-hour session on Thursday morning.
Key, who has virtually barred Peters from the next government if he wins the election, said that if documents could clear up the matter quickly, Peters would have presented that information months ago.
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