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Kahui case: $25,000 reward offered by registered charity Family First NZ for information that leads to a conviction

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TVNZ One News Story: Kahui case: 25k reward offered. Family First [a registered charity. Reg. no. CC 10094] is offering a $25,000 reward for any new information that leads to a conviction in the case of the Kahui twins’ deaths.

Coroner Garry Evans says he is satisfied that the traumatic brain injuries suffered by three-month-old boys Chris and Cru Kahui were incurred during the afternoon-evening of June 12, 2006, while they were in the “sole custody, care and control of their father” Chris Kahui at the Mangere house where they lived.

Chris Kahui was acquitted of the twins’ murders in 2008.

The National Director of Family First Bob McCoskrie said it is hoped the reward will be enough incentive for somebody to break their silence.

McCoskrie said somebody must know what happened.

“This should not be allowed to be swept under the carpet,” he said.

“New Zealanders want answers to this case – who killed the twins, why did the prosecution fail, and what were the contributing factors to these murders that need to be tackled to avoid similar cases in the future?”

He said a reward will be a small price to pay for justice to be served for Chris and Cru.

Kahui’s defence claimed that the twins’ mother Macsyna King was responsible for the deaths, but she denied this at his trial and at the coroner’s inquest last year.

Evans said in his report released today that the allegation that King was responsible for the infliction of the twins’ fatal injuries “lies unsupported by the evidence and is without substance in fact”.

Police consider evidence

The coroner also said in his report that the evidence given by Chris Kahui was “unreliable, conflicting and, on many occasions, untrue”.

But Kahui today rejected outright the findings of the Coroner’s Court and again denied any involvement in his sons’ deaths.

Police said they are still considering the evidence heard during the coroner’s inquest and will not be making further comment until that analysis is completed.

“The death of the Kahui twins is yet another tragic reminder of the need for everyone in our communities to play their part in ensuring the safety and welfare of our young and vulnerable people” said Superintendent John Tims.

Police said today they thoroughly investigated the deaths of the Kahui twins and put all available evidence before the court for examination and judgement.

Family members initially refused to co-operate with police in their homicide investigation into the twins’ deaths.

Source: TVNZ  One News Story: http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/kahui-case-25k-reward-offered-4985743

See Family First NZ Offer (first made in 2010).

http://familyfirst.org.nz/2012/07/kahui-case-25k-reward-offered/

http://familyfirst.org.nz/issues/kahui-case-reward/

South Pacific a corruption and money laundering paradise

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Deregistered shell companies drift across the South Pacific without oversight, but crucial to corruption and money laundering. Authorities in Europe are looking for nearly $700 million stashed in shell companies once registered in New Zealand and Vanuatu, and the $600,000 armoured car bought by a London-based Nigerian politician using a shell company operating out of Niue.

The latest case involves one time Ireland rich-lister Sean Quinn. After Ireland’s financial meltdown, he found himself owing billions to the former Anglo Irish Bank.

But the Irish media alleges he managed to put millions beyond its reach, and that private investigators have trawled company registers in Australia and New Zealand looking at links with Vanuatu.

Much of the missing money came out of the Ukraine and Russia, where dozens of once New Zealand-registered shell companies operate despite being struck off by the Companies Office.

The way the companies lingered on was a factor in New Zealand being struck off a European Union banking “white list” of trusted jurisdictions, and the London based non-profit Global Witness, says our shells are “a critical link in the corruption supply chain”.

Another entity emerged after the conviction this year of former governor of Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta State, James Ibori. Sentenced to 13 years’ jail for stealing more than $310m from the Government, mansions in England and South Africa were seized, along with a fleet of armoured Range Rovers and Bentleys.

One of the problems in searching the Pacific was that after pressure from New Zealand, Niue closed its register in 2006 and gave the rights to control a tax haven there for 20 years to Mossack Fonseca and Co of Panama City

Source: Story by Michael Field. Fairfax NZ News. 22 July 2012.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/7324020/South-Pacific-a-money-laundering-paradise

‘Sexting’ growing issue for Kiwi teens

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An increasing number of New Zealand teenagers are seeking help when relationship breakups lead to “sexting” material going viral.

Cybersafety organisation Netsafe is reporting a rise in incidents where videos and photographs containing personal sexual content are sent into cyberspace after a relationship breakup, including “handfuls” of teenagers each month.

It aligns with new research that found sexting was increasing among 14 to 19-year-old American teenagers, indicating a higher prevalence of sexual activity in their offline lives.

Researchers at the University of Texas medical branch found that nearly 30 per cent of US teenagers had sent nude photos via email or text, and 57 per cent had been asked to.

Netsafe executive director Martin Cocker said New Zealand’s statistics would be similar, with sexting usually starting when teenagers became sexually active.

“It is certainly going on.”

A “handful” of the sexting cases reported to Netsafe each month involved teenagers and were usually reported when a relationship had gone bad, and sexual material taken or received during the relationship was distributed among a wider audience.

“It is not so much the creation that’s the issue, it’s the later distribution of it. Unfortunately that happens a lot.”

Netsafe offered advice and support. But most often the distributed files could not be entirely deleted from cyberspace, he said.

The Law Commission has sought public opinion on potential digital issues. It received more than 70 submissions and was preparing a final report and recommendations for the Government by the end of the year.

–Fairfax NZ News and Reuters

The Dominion Post, Thursday, 5 July, 2012, p. A5.

Jody O’Callaghan and Reuters

Stuff

News Link: http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/7222873/Sexting-growing-issue-for-Kiwi-teens

Albany-based shell companies key to NZ$1.5 billion money-laundering scandal

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New Zealand companies with a vacant driveway in Auckland’s Albany as a registered address have been key players in a US$1.2 billion (NZ$1.5b) money laundering scandal in central Asia that helped bring down a government and sparked deadly riots.

A report by London based non-profit NGO Global Witness [www.globalwitness.org] offers more embarrassing revelations over company formations that in May saw New Zealand struck off a prestigious European Union banking “white list” because of weak money laundering and terrorism financing rules.

The report also outed several recurring director/shareholder names on the New Zealand’s Companies Office register that are likely to be low-paid fronts for unknown people who control the shell companies.

For more see:

NZ shell companies in Kyrgyz corruption.

Story by Michael Field. Fairfax NZ News. Published 02/07/12

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/7205840/NZ-shell-companies-in-Kyrgyz-corruption

 

 

Child Youth & Family (CYF) apology after teen placed with rapist – Stuff.co.nz

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A Taranaki woman who was put in the care of a convicted rapist during her teens has had an apology from Child Youth and Family.

At 16, the woman whose real name has not been released, was taken from her family and placed with an uncle who had spent six years in prison for taking part in a gang rape and who subsequently sexually abused her.

The woman said a friend of her uncle’s who has since died from AIDS also abused her and she and her first born son are HIV positive.

In a statement reported by Marae Investigates, the Ministry of Social Development said it was a gap in CYF policy that had let the woman down.

“In 2001 it wasn’t mandatory for CYF staff to do criminal checks around family placement decisions made at youth justice Family Group Conferences.”

Ministry of Social Development deputy chief executive David Shanks said that staff at the time still had to check the suitability of caregivers and the Ministry does not condone the placement of any child or young person with a convicted sex offender.

The woman was removed from her uncle’s care after reporting the abuse.

Criminal checks for CYF placements became compulsory early this year.

“I can assure the public that our assessment process has been strengthened in more recent years, with staff expected to do police checks if there were any concerns around family/whanau placements,” Mr Shanks said.

Source: Stuff.co.nz  Fairfax NZ News. 24 June 2012

See: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/7161890/CYF-apology-after-teen-placed-with-rapist