A corrupt former managing director of an engineering firm jailed in New Zealand's largest bribery prosecution is back in court - this time fighting for a living allowance to be released from $8.6 million in frozen assets.
The millions of dollars in assets belonging to Stephen Borlase and his wife Catherine Borlase were frozen after the former head of roading contracting business Projenz was charged, convicted and jailed.
Borlase was sentenced to five and a half years' imprisonment in February 2017 alongside Murray Noone, a former senior manager at Auckland Transport and Rodney District Council, who was jailed for five years.
The pair's offending saw a pattern of kickbacks from Projenz to Noone - more than $1m over seven years - for Noone to award contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to Borlase's company between 2005 and 2013.
Police were granted freezing orders in September 2017 for some $8.6m, including a multimillion-dollar property portfolio, bank accounts containing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and a car collection which included a 1963 Ford Fairlane.
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Yesterday, the corruption case returned to the High Court as several applications were made before a multi-day civil forfeiture hearing is held in June next year.
One such application is the Borlases seeking the release of some of the restrained funds to meet living costs.
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The Borlases' lawyer, Simon Cogan, told Justice Christine Gordon his clients will seek a variation to the restraining orders to release funds for living costs this month.
An application for security for costs by the Commissioner of Police - represented by Crown lawyer Hannah MacDonald - has also been made and is opposed by the Borlases, while a discovery application by police was also opposed by Auckland Council and Auckland Transport, the court heard.
Justice Gordon said a two-day hearing will be required to determine the police's application for security for costs and the Borlases bid to vary the restraining orders.
A date is yet to be set for the fixture.
At Borlase and Noone's trial, the court heard of lavish spending by Projenz on Auckland Transport staff - including a 10-hour, $5500 lunch at a Viaduct restaurant.
Borlase unsuccessfully appealed against his conviction and sentence to the Court of Appeal, while Noone failed in an appeal of his sentence.
They were released from prison by the Parole Board in late 2018.
Former Auckland Council manager Barrie Kenneth James George pleaded guilty in 2016 for his part in the scandal and was sentenced to 10 months' home detention.
Frozen: The seized assets of Stephen Borlase
• A home on Disraeli St, Mt Eden worth more than $2m
• A bach on Harsant Ave, Whitianga worth more than $800,000
• Commercial property on Corinthian Dr, Albany worth more than $900,000
• 2015 Mercedes Benz A180
• 1963 Ford Fairlane
• 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee
• And hundreds of thousands of dollars in accounts in the name of the Borlase Civil Trust held with Bank of New Zealand and Kiwibank.
