NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Business / Personal Finance / Tax

Former Blue Chip boss Mark Bryers granted bail while facing $18m Australian tax fraud charges

Sam Hurley
By Sam Hurley
NZ Herald Print Editor·NZ Herald·
25 Sep, 2020 05:35 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Mark Bryers, pictured in Auckland in 2015, is now out on bail but yet to enter a plea to either of the criminal charges he faces. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Mark Bryers, pictured in Auckland in 2015, is now out on bail but yet to enter a plea to either of the criminal charges he faces. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Former Blue Chip boss Mark Bryers has been released from custody in Australia while facing allegations over a multimillion-dollar tax conspiracy.

The disgraced Kiwi businessman appeared again yesterday in Sydney's Central Local Court on two charges over allegedly helping an underworld crime boss structure a A$17.5m tax scam.

New South Wales court staff confirmed to the Herald that the 62-year-old was granted bail. He had previously been held behind bars after earlier appearances with no bail bids.

According to court documents provided to the Herald, Bryers has several conditions he must meet or risk being locked up again.

They include living at an approved property in the Sydney suburb of Glebe and a ban on entering any international points of departure leaving Australia.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He is also barred from applying for a new passport and allowed to have only one cellphone, which he must permit police to check the content of and provide them with any passwords.

He must also report to the Glebe police station every day, not associate or contact any of his co-accused, except through his lawyer, or benefit from any of the companies linked to the alleged scam.

Bryers was also instructed to "be of good behaviour".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

If the businessman fails to comply with his bail conditions a $75,000 security agreement will be forfeited.

However, the man who once had an estimated personal wealth of $70m is yet to enter a plea to either of the charges he faces.

Discover more

Agribusiness

NZ properties remain frozen as Crafar Farms saga heads for retrial

10 Sep 05:00 PM
Banking and finance

Former CBL boss Peter Harris appears in court over fraud charges

04 Aug 09:25 PM
Tax

Inside Mark Bryers' arrest and his 'cunning plan'

29 Jul 05:53 AM
New Zealand|crime

She thought she'd found the perfect job - but was she laundering money?

24 Sep 07:30 PM

Bryers, whose Blue Chip group collapsed in 2008 owing investors $84m, was arrested in Queensland by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in July along with several others, including former bankers.

He was then charged with intentionally dealing with proceeds of crime, money or property worth more than $1m and also of conspiring with the intention of dishonestly causing loss to the Australian Government.

The New Zealander faces up to 25 years behind bars if convicted of dealing with proceeds of crime.

He is due to appear in court again in December.

Last month, the Herald reported extensive details of Bryers' connection to "Operation Bordelon".

The joint AFP, Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Australian Securities and Investments Commission investigation linked Bryers to a syndicate allegedly being directed by underworld-connected construction boss George Alex.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The group is accused of running a tax-dodging labour-hire structure, which was allegedly Bryers' idea after he was first "employed by the syndicate in early 2019", according to court documents obtained by the Herald.

Police allege the scheme involved labour-hire firms outsourcing payroll services to other companies that had no intention of paying tax to the ATO. The money was instead allegedly laundered, while the payroll companies were dumped and a new one formed when the debt grew too much.

Bryers is accused of personally pocketing A$1.92m from the fraud, while the AFP claims Alex and his associates used the funds to purchase luxury items and finance a Gold Coast apartment.

The apartment was allegedly used as a meeting house for the syndicate and was bugged by authorities. The AFP claims Bryers has been recorded at the apartment telling Alex he had a "cunning plan".

After the Blue Chip group failed, Bryers, who was found to be a big-spender at an Auckland brothel, was personally bankrupted in 2009 with debts of $230m.

He would later plead guilty to 34 financial reporting charges in 2010 and be fined $37,500 and ordered to complete 75 hours of community work by the Auckland District Court.

Bryers is also banned by the High Court from acting as a manager or director in New Zealand until 2022.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Tax

Premium
Tax

Why charity tax reform got kicked to touch

08 Jun 09:00 PM
Premium
Opinion

Mary Holm: Are bond investments a scam?

23 May 05:00 PM
Premium
Tax

Govt chooses $6.6b tax relief policy for businesses over corporate tax cut

22 May 07:20 AM

Jono and Ben brew up a tea-fuelled adventure in Sri Lanka

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Tax

Premium
Why charity tax reform got kicked to touch

Why charity tax reform got kicked to touch

08 Jun 09:00 PM

Prospect of rivers of fresh tax revenues shrank, on reflection, to mere trickles.

Premium
Mary Holm: Are bond investments a scam?

Mary Holm: Are bond investments a scam?

23 May 05:00 PM
Premium
Govt chooses $6.6b tax relief policy for businesses over corporate tax cut

Govt chooses $6.6b tax relief policy for businesses over corporate tax cut

22 May 07:20 AM
Premium
How a $35m funding boost aims to tackle NZ's ballooning tax debt

How a $35m funding boost aims to tackle NZ's ballooning tax debt

22 May 05:04 AM
Help for those helping hardest-hit
sponsored

Help for those helping hardest-hit

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP