Hubbard's failures not a result of fraud - supporters

Allan Hubbard and a slew of his private companies were put into statutory management nearly a year ago. Photo / APN

Supporters of South Canterbury Finance's Allan Hubbard are confident he will be cleared of fraud charges which could see the 83-year-old jailed for 10 years if found guilty.

Serious Fraud Office chief executive Adam Feeley yesterday announced the 50 charges against the Timaru accountant but Hubbard's lawyer, Russell McVeagh's Mike Heron, vowed to win on filing an immediate strike-out application.

"The charges are strenuously denied by Mr Hubbard," he said after action in the Timaru District Court.

The 50 charges involve theft by person in special relationship, false statement by promoter and false accounting. They carry a maximum 10-year jail sentence.

Supporters have rallied around the elderly couple, in a financial straitjacket for more than a year after their assets were frozen and an immediate halt was called to their disposing of, or transferring, control of companies.

Head of the Allan Hubbard Supporters Group, Paul Curruthers is confident Mr Hubbard will be cleared of each charge.

"The 50 charges actually relate to the one thing," he told Newstalk ZB.

"I've known those charges have been floating around for some time.

"They've been hovering around threatening for some time."

Mr Curruthers did not believe Mr Hubbard would defraud anyone.

"I would stand beside Allan in the face of New Zealand's abuse," he said. "In my eyes - and I'm not a Christian man - there is a difference between God's law and man's law."

John Funnell, of the Leave Allan Hubbard Alone supporters' group with 4369 members, said he would stand by the Hubbards forever.

"I feel sorry for the poor old bugger. The whole thing is unfortunate. There are many of us who believe any of the financial shortfalls were not as a result of fraud, certainly not on the part of Mr Hubbard."

A second support group, the Stand by Hubbard support team, said last night it had commissioned its own investigator who would release a report in the next few days.

Hubbard's wife, Jean, was not charged although she is a director of Aorangi Finance and Hubbard Management Funds. She told the Herald the charges were "just ridiculous".

Asked if she was worried, she said: "Yes, no, of course we are. All the charges are just ridiculous."

Hubbard challenged the SFO's decision to pursue him.

"I suppose it is designed to destroy me ... but I see they are abandoning Hotchin now," he said, referring to a statement by Mr Feeley admitting difficulties with the SFO probe into Hanover Finance and co-founder Mark Hotchin.

But Mr Feeley dismissed Hubbard's support. "Throughout the investigation we have been aware of the level of public interest in and support for Mr Hubbard and the issues of Mr Hubbard's age and health which have been raised by his lawyers.

"However we also have to consider the interests of justice and the interests of the investors relative to the evidence we have obtained."

Grant Thornton, statutory managers of Aorangi Securities and Hubbard Management Funds, said yesterday that reporting to investors at the end of this month would go ahead.

The $1.6 billion collapse of Hubbard's South Canterbury Finance (SCF) was the largest government-backed failure in the finance sector.

The Hubbards themselves were put in statutory management a year ago but the company which tipped them over was not the huge SCF, owner of many businesses and government-guaranteed funder in which 30,000 people had life savings. Instead, it was the smaller Aorangi, Hubbard's own business.