Two Hamilton men have been charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for attempting to scam around $450,000 from evacuees attempting to flee Afghanistan for a free government service.
The defendants, both of whom have interim name suppression, were arrested in Hamilton on Tuesday and appeared in Hamilton District Court that afternoon.
The SFO 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 pair began offending in 2021 shortly after the fall of Kabul and the withdrawal of US and NATO forces, according to the SFO.
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 knew there was no charge for the service yet sought more than $450,000 in total from evacuees trying to flee Afghanistan," the SFO alleges.
Both defendants have been released on bail and are next scheduled to appear on July 13.
In August 2021, then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern sent Defence Force troops to Afghanistan after the Taliban - which ruled Afghanistan from 1996-2001 and was accused of aiding Al-Qaeda - captured the capital Kabul, forcing thousands of Afghans to flee to the airport in harrowing scenes.
Following this, New Zealand deployed a 'Special Representative for Afghanistan' to the Middle East to help bring back 1250 people granted visas,
The Taliban made significant advances in Afghanistan, after the United States under former President Donald Trump signed a deal with the insurgents, promising to withdraw after 20 years in exchange for security assurances.
