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Former Immigration Minister Tuariki Delamere has gone on trial for alleged immigration fraud.
The charges have been brought by the Serious Fraud Office which alleges he used holes in immigration policy to help Chinese business people settle in New Zealand.
The SFO claims he created a "money-go-round" where the applicants would transfer a million dollars into a company set up by him, from which he collected up to $100,000 in fees from each applicant. It is alleged he did this seven times.
Delamere faces 20 charges between 2001 and 2004 when he was an independent immigration consultant in Auckland, which he has pleaded not guilty to. These include nine charges of using a forged document, seven charges of using a document with intent to defraud and four of dishonestly using a document.
On Wednesday the jury at the Auckland High Court was told he admitted exploiting loopholes in immigration policy.
The prosecution called the business dealings of Delamere a scam.
It accuses Delamere of employing "clever gymnastics" in a fraudulent scheme cooked up to make residency applications from Chinese nationals look above board when they were not. It says he stood to make a lot of money by pulling the wool over the eyes of the immigration system he helped set up.
Prosecutor Simon Moore says Delamere charged between $80,000 to $100,000 per client for his services.
The trial is expected to last four weeks.
