Belgrave Finance's former legal adviser knew he was acting unlawfully when he conspired with a former property developer to help hide the man's connections to the now failed firm, the Crown alleged yesterday.
Former Central Hawke's Bay mayor and Waipukurau lawyer, Hugh Edward Staples Hamilton, is on trial in the High Court at Auckland for helping a former property developer, Raymond Schofield, to arrange the purchase of the company Belgrave Finance so that his identity and control of the company was hidden. The purpose was to allow Schofield, who bought Belgrave in 2005 for $3 million, to borrow from the firm either directly or through other companies he controlled.
Over a two-year period after the purchase, Belgrave loaned $18 million to Schofield or entities controlled by him.
Of this amount, Hamilton assisted on related-party loans worth $12.6 million, preparing documents and advising Belgrave on "these unlawful advances".
Because Hamilton was instrumental in helping with the transactions and knew they breached Belgrave's trust deed, he was liable for charges of theft by a person in a special relationship, Crown lawyer Nick Williams said in his opening statements to the court.