The two men appeared in Hamilton District Court on Tuesday. Photo:
The Serious Fraud Office has charged two Hamilton men it alleges took advantage of Afghan evacuees looking to flee the Taliban.
The men are accused of asking for thousands of dollars in payment for services that were provided for free by the New Zealand government.
It is alleged the defendants sought more than $450,000 in total from evacuees trying to flee Afghanistan.
The SFO has charged the first defendant with conspiracy to obtain by deception, obtaining by deception, using a forged document, attempting to pervert the course of justice and obstructing an SFO investigation.
The second defendant faces a charge of conspiracy to obtain by deception.
In a statement, the SFO said it alleged that the defendants' offending began in 2021 shortly after the fall of Kabul and withdrawal of United States and NATO forces.
Immigration New Zealand and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade established a team to assist with the evacuation of eligible Afghan nationals from Afghanistan, including covering VISA, transport and MIQ costs.
The SFO alleges the first defendant, who had close ties to the Afghan community and was familiar with the evacuation process, conspired with the second defendant to contact eligible people in Afghanistan and offer to organise their travel to New Zealand in exchange for payment.
Both defendants were aware there was no charge for the service, the SFO said.
The SFO has charged the first defendant with conspiracy to obtain by deception, obtaining by deception, using a forged document, attempting to pervert the course of justice and obstructing an SFO investigation.
The second defendant faces a charge of conspiracy to obtain by deception.
The two men were released on bail with name suppression, after appearing in Hamilton District Court on Tuesday. They are next scheduled to appear in court on 13 July.
