Media Release

19 October 2012

SFO charges proven against property developers

Marcus Julian Friedlander (58) and Ralph Anthony Vuletic (31) have pleaded guilty in the Auckland High Court to charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

They were facing 25 charges under the Crimes Act: attempting to pervert the course of justice, using a document for the purpose of obtaining pecuniary advantage and uttering a forged document. Mr Friedlander will be sentenced on 10 December and Mr Vuletic will be sentenced on 29 November.

The charges were laid against Mr Friedlander and Mr Vuletic in January 2011 in relation creating a false debt to avoid bankruptcy. Mr Friedlander had a failing property development and insurance brokering businesses and was in debt to the tune of over $10 million.

SFO Acting Chief Executive, Mr Simon McArley said “Mr Friedlander and Vuletic executed an elaborate scheme to avoid Mr Friedlander’s bankruptcy and short change his creditors. The SFO believes that bringing this behaviour to account goes some way to restoring confidence in the New Zealand legal system, and particularly the fairness of the insolvency regime.

“This marks the end of a nine and a half year investigation and prosecution for the SFO, and demonstrates the office’s determination and perseverance in cases with strong public interest.”

ENDS

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