KEY POINTS:
A New Zealander is suspected of being involved in a bizarre scam in which a counterfeiting gang tried to con the Bank of England out of $75 billion.
The plot includes a group of six former Chinese nationals aged more than 100, pre-Communist riches, and hundreds of special-issue
banks notes that never existed.
Six people, including an Australian, are now on trial in a British court.
Their alleged local co-conspirator is believed to be in New Zealand.
A New Zealand police spokeswoman said yesterday that Interpol had not yet had any information, but if the man's whereabouts were known, the case could have been referred to local police.
Prosecutors say the scam began when Australian lawyer Ross Cowie, 62, emailed the Bank of England claiming he acted for six former Chinese nationalist officials aged between 109 and 116 who had hoarded riches from early last century. They wanted to exchange the money for modern notes.
The loot included an "avalanche" of 1000 pound bills which were in circulation until 1943 - and only 63 were believed to still exist - and 360 "special issue" 500,000 pound notes that never existed.
Prosecutor Martin Evans told Britain's Southwark Crown Court if the counterfeit notes had been genuine, they would have been worth almost 75 per cent of the 39 billion pounds now in use worldwide.
The court was told the outlandish tale began in December last year when Cowie emailed the Bank of England and said: "Can you confirm 1000 pound bank notes were in circulation in the 1930s and, assuming they are genuine, are redeemable for current bank notes?"
The bank replied that the notes did exist and outlined how to redeem them.
In January, Cowie sent a second email claiming the family had been holding back and also had 360 500,000 pound notes, which he claimed were "special issue".
Suspicious bank officials called in the City of London police when Cowie and three others visited the Bank of England's London premises in February.
An undercover officer posed as a bank employee at the meeting. After another meeting in March, Cowie was arrested, along with his alleged co-conspirators - Chin "Daniel" Lim, 50, the family's so-called "chief"; Kim Ming Teo, 41, said to be another solicitor; Ping Shuen Mak, 56; Kwok Kwong Chan, 55, and Chi Kuen Chung, 53.
The six have all pleaded not guilty to one charge of conspiring to defraud the bank.
The court was told the gang's mistakes included citing a 500,000 pound note that had never existed, referring to the bank in documents as the "England Bank" and not correctly forging the signature of Sir Jasper Quintus Hollom, appointed chief cashier of the Bank of England in 1963, who always used his first two initials when signing his name, not just the first as used by the counterfeiters.
Police spokesman Jon Neilson confirmed that New Zealand police were aiding the English police but would not comment further.
- NZPA, NZ HERALD STAFF
