By Xinhua,
Wellington : New Zealand First leader Minister Winston Peters’ lawyer Peter Williams said he was confident that information passed to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) on Saturday will produce a rapid clearance of his client Peters.
“I’m very confident that there will be an absolute clearance for Mr. Peters in a relatively short period of time,” he said following a “cordial” meeting with two SFO staff, the New Zealand Press Association reported.
Peters on Friday stepped aside as foreign Minister until the outcome of the SFO investigation into the fate of donations made to his party is known.
Saturday’s meeting in Auckland with senior SFO executive Gib Beattie was to hand over documents, including a statement from the Spencer Trust — which received political donations — to show the money was used as intended.
Meanwhile, Parliament’s privileges committee has invited Peters, lawyer Brian Henry and expatriate businessman Owen Glenn to give evidence next week.
The committee is considering whether Peters should have declared a 100,000 NZ dollars (70, 000 U.S. dollars) donation from Glenn toward legal bills in 2005.
The committee is expected to hold a closed three-hour session on Thursday morning.