Swney pleads guilty

NewstalkZb reports:

Former Auckland Heart of the City boss Alex Swney has today admitted to tax evasion charges.

The 57 year old was fighting the accusations he had $1.8 million worth of unpaid taxes …. but he’s now abandoned the chance of a judge-alone trial and will be sentenced in April.

NZME court reporter Rob Kidd says the turn of events was a surprise.

“The IRD condensed the 39 charges that he originally faced to four representative charges that he eventually pleaded guilty to.”

The Heart of the City’s board also has launched civil proceedings against Swney, after an independent investigation.

This type of offending must be punished with a custodial sentence. This was deliberate fraud over the best part of a decade.

The fact Swney headed up a business lobby group makes it worse.