South Auckland JP Suren Sharma is accused of laundering nearly $1.8 million deposited into his bank accounts from 12 investment scam victims.
South Auckland JP Suren Sharma is accused of laundering nearly $1.8 million deposited into his bank accounts from 12 investment scam victims.
Suren Sharma, a Karaka accountant and Justice of the Peace, has been named in a near $1.8 million money laundering case.
Sharma allegedly helped offshore criminals steal from 12 investment scam victims, claiming he was also “duped” by the criminal enterprise.
The High Court found public interest in Sharma’s role outweighed his request for name suppression.
A respected JP who allegedly used his bank accounts to help offshore criminals steal nearly $1.8 million from 12 investment scam victims has lost suppression and can finally be named.
Suren Sharma is a Karaka accountant and registered IRD tax agent who is also the director and shareholder of multiple companies.
The 73-year-old pensioner has been a Justice of the Peace since the 1980s when he was recommended for the position by former Manurewa MP Sir Roger Douglas.
Sharma has been fighting to keep his name secret since his arrest on money laundering charges in January last year, arguing his reputation and accountancy business would both be destroyed if he was identified.
He also claims he was “duped” by the criminal enterprise, and that he was only charged with “reckless intent”, therefore the public interest in his case was less significant.
Additionally, Sharma told the court his mental health was at risk and he would struggle to pay rent and provide for his family if his taxation work dried up and he was forced to rely on the pension.
“It would feel like a dagger through my heart for my name to be published before I have the chance to defend these allegations,” Sharma told a judge earlier this year.
But after the Herald and Crown opposed Sharma’s bid for ongoing secrecy, a judge lifted suppression in March, ruling he had not met the threshold for it to continue, and that the public’s interest in knowing Sharma’s character outweighed his own.
Sharma immediately appealed to the High Court, but a decision this week dismissed the appeal.
Justice David Johnstone ruled that public interest in Sharma’s position as a JP, “with long-standing involvement in business matters”, trumped his right to continued anonymity.
It means Sharma can now be identified and the allegations against him revealed.
Police allege Sharma acted as a “money mule”. They say he laundered nearly $1.8m which had been stolen by offshore criminals as part of a complex investment scam, in which the victims believed their money was safe in low-risk bonds or secure term deposits.
After landing in Sharma’s bank accounts, he “remitted the proceeds of crime to scammers” in return for a commission, the police summary of facts alleges.
The money is alleged to have been transferred overseas or used to purchase cryptocurrency. Most of it was never recovered.
Auckland businessman Deepak Udhani lost $100k in a 2023 scam. The Banking Ombudsman declined his bid for compensation. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Complainant Deepak Udhani – who lost $100,000 in June 2023 to the alleged scam – has welcomed the suppression ruling.
But he was concerned the man who police allege played a role in the scam had been able to continue working as a taxation agent for the last 16 months, despite facing serious criminal charges.
If convicted, Sharma faces up to seven years in jail.
‘A position of trust and responsibility’
In an affidavit filed soon after his arrest in February last year – obtained by the Herald – Sharma states that he has worked as an authorised IRD tax agent since 1996.
“Plainly, that is a position of trust and responsibility. I get in and receive clients’ money to then pay to the IRD.
“It would be devastating to this business if my name was released and made public until the charges were heard at trial and dealt with.”
Sharma told the judge his business would be “ruined permanently”, there would be no client base and “nothing left to sell”.
South Auckland JP Suren Sharma says he never met any of the alleged victims and took his instructions from a company in Australia.
He conceded the charges he faced “directly relate to the kind of business I am in where I receive people’s money on trust”.
“Name suppression is essential so I can continue to operate my business until at least my case is heard, and then after. If not, my business will fail, and I will not be able to support my family.”
He added that he had completed a judicial studies course and sat as a JP at Auckland District Court – the same court where he faces trial later this year.
Sharma’s affidavit denies any wrongdoing. He said he never met or had any contact with the alleged victims, or the individuals named in court documents who allegedly carried out the apparent scam.
He claimed he had acted as an agent for World Initiative AG Alliance Pty Ltd (WIAG) on instructions from the company’s former director.
Sharma said WIAG or companies associated with it had agreements with each of the named victims “to invest money they deposited into Bitcoin. I have sighted each agreement, and copies of them are in my computer.”
Sharma claimed he would receive copies of each investor’s contract and passport, along with confirmation of their address for anti-money laundering purposes, “when each of them paid money into a bank account controlled by me”.
South Auckland JP Suren Sharma is a respected IRD tax agent and company director.
“I did not give them any instructions about where to pay money to. As I said, I never had any contact with any of them.
“All transactions with various banks were conducted under strict guidelines and policies in compliance with banks’ operating protocols and in compliance with anti-money laundering regulations.”
Sharma told the court he received his instructions from the former director by email or WhatsApp messaging.
The affidavit says Sharma only learned of the scam when private investigator Nick Mayer visited his Karaka home in October 2023 after being hired by Udhani to track his stolen $100,000.
Sharma said he explained to Mayer he’d had no dealing with Udhani and provided Mayer with copies of relevant documents, including an apparent investor agreement provided by WIAG.
“Unknown to me, Nick Mayer had secretly recorded our conversation on his mobile phone and later published a damaging article in the Herald ... which included a video with my voice as recorded.”
Sharma said he “legitimately received money” from the listed victims into his bank accounts.
“I then disposed of that money by converting it to Bitcoin investments as instructed. That was the instructions of the clients.”
Crown prosecutor Pip McNabb said by receiving fraud proceeds into his NZ accounts and transferring the money overseas, Sharma “legitimised the scam”.
“It is alleged that Mr Sharma was reckless as to the provenance of the funds.”
McNabb said Sharma had failed to establish that the necessary risks to his business interests, livelihood and mental health amounted to “extreme hardship”.
She and NZME legal counsel Isabella Ieremia underlined the principles of freedom of speech, open justice and the right of media to report on court proceedings as “surrogates of the public”.
South Auckland JP Suren Sharma is accused of laundering nearly $1.8 million deposited into his bank accounts from 12 investment scam victims.
“The reality of the situation is that Mr Sharma is facing serious fraud charges,” McNabb told the court.
“A corollary of that is that clients may be unlikely to want to deal with him in his capacity as an IRD taxation agent.”
As a trained accountant and tax expert, Sharma should have a “thorough understanding of the law and obligations to not engage in money laundering”, McNabb said.
“The public and those involved in Mr Sharma’s dealings are likely to have a high degree of trust in him as a result of his knowledge and experience. This trust comprises an expectation that Mr Sharma be vigilant as to the provenance of finances and where they are eventually transferred.”
Lane Nichols is a senior journalist and Auckland desk editor for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
