Accidental millionaire's secret China trips

Kara Hurring, pictured with her daughter Leena, entered China six times after fleeing to Hong Kong from New Zealand. Photo / Supplied

The accidental millionaire who returned to New Zealand to face criminal charges without her Kiwi daughter appears to have moved between China and Hong Kong with relative ease, according to immigration records.

The freshly discovered records show Kara Hurring crossed the border from Hong Kong into China several times after leaving New Zealand in 2009 when $10 million was incorrectly transferred into the business bank account of her partner Leo Gao.

Hurring has since returned to New Zealand and is facing a host of theft charges relating to the money. Gao was arrested crossing the same border and is custody in Hong Kong.

Police allege Gao transferred $6.7m before leaving New Zealand for Hong Kong on April 29, 2009. They allege Hurring left four days later on May 3.

Immigration documents disclosed to the Herald on Sunday show Hurring has been a regular visitor to China since 2005.

It is believed she travelled to and from China with her first husband, Andy Yang, who is the father of her daughter Leena. Chinese-born Yang now lives in Hong Kong.

But there was a two-year gap between her separation from Yang and her return to Asia on May 3, 2009.

On that occasion, she was following Gao. The documents show she entered China through the Gongbei Customs office near Macau. According to the documents, Hurring entered China alone and without her daughter. She had passed through Hong Kong before making the short ferry trip to Macau.

Then, over the next two years, immigration records show she passed through the Chinese border crossing near Hong Kong five times. On each occasion, she travelled alone.

Hurring returned to New Zealand in February without Leena, leading to speculation she is in Hong Kong. It was reported since that Hurring had given birth to a second child.

Hurring has pleaded not guilty and faces a trial in February.