Boat deal with opals alleged

Press, 20 April 1982, Page 4

Boat deal with opals alleged

NZPA Hamilton A man has been sent for trial on three charges of breaching Reserve Bank foreign exchange regulations. The charges allege that he bought a catamaran in New Zealand and paid for it with opals in Australia, and then twice attempted to buy other vessels using similar means.

The defendant’s name, occupation. and workplace were suppressed when depositions were taken in the District Court at Hamilton. He was released on $2OOO bail, with a surety of $2OOO. An Auckland company director, Jan Skerrett Wild, said he had been a broker in Auckland when the defendant arranged to meet the owner of a catamaran and an offer was made for a full cash settlement of $140,000.

He alleged that it was agreed that a deed of variation would be inserted saying

that opals would be used in payment. This deed was destroyed when the opals changed hands in Sydney, Mr Wild alleged., He told the court there had been a variety of proposed dealings with the defendant. An attempt had been made to buy a $270,000 launch but the transaction was not finalised, Mr Wild said.

A second Auckland company director, Julien Rae Browne, said he was partowner of the. launch Spartacus. He said he was offered by the defendant $lOO,OOO cash in New Zealand with the balance to be made up by a parcel of gemstones in Australia. He said he had checked with the Reserve Bank regarding the importation of gemstones but the sale of the vessel was “never consumated.”