Prime Minister John Key says former Cabinet Minister Doug Graham will retain his knighthood, despite his conviction for his role as a director of failed finance company Lombard Finance.
Property financier Lombard was tipped into receivership by its trustee Perpetual Trust in April 2008. At the time it owed about 4,400 investors some $127 million. Receivers PwC have estimated secured debenture investors will get back between 15% and 20% of their original investment. As of April 10 this year they had received 13 cents in the dollar.
Here's John Key's full press release:
Prime Minister John Key today announced he has decided Sir Douglas Graham KNZM will retain his knighthood following his conviction as a director of Lombard Finance.
Last week the Supreme Court turned down the application of Sir Douglas and his three fellow directors of Lombard Finance to appeal their convictions for making false statements in a company prospectus. The Court granted the directors leave to appeal their sentences.
“Now that Sir Douglas has exhausted his legal options to appeal his conviction, it is appropriate that I make a decision on the matter of his knighthood,” Mr Key says.
“I have given this matter a lot of thought in the period since it first went to court in 2011.
“I took into account the on-going financial hardship that many Lombard investors suffered as a result of the company’s collapse. Many people through no fault of their own have lost some, or all of their future financial security and that is an awful position to be placed in,” Mr Key says.
In deciding that Sir Douglas should retain his knighthood, Mr Key says he was persuaded by three key factors.
“First, Sir Douglas received his knighthood for his leadership role in treaty settlements.
“Second, Sir Douglas was convicted of a strict liability offence, where dishonest or criminal intent is not required for conviction.”
Mr Key noted the High Court found that Sir Douglas and the other defendants acted honestly at all times, genuinely believed the statements in the amended prospectus were true, and that careful attention had been given to the contents of the amended prospectus, including taking legal advice.
“Third, in both New Zealand, and in the United Kingdom, it has been very rare for honours to be cancelled. In those cases where it has occurred, it has often been because the actions that led to the cancellation were in the same area as that for which the original honour was awarded. This is not the case with Sir Douglas,” Mr Key says.
“Sir Douglas retired from Parliament in 1999 leaving a significant political legacy in the area of treaty settlements that subsequent Labour and National-led governments have worked to build on.
“New Zealand is a better country today because of the work Sir Douglas did as Treaty Negotiations Minister, and my judgment is that he deserves to retain his knighthood,” Mr Key says.
For similar reasons, Mr Key will also not be recommending to the Queen or the Governor-General the cancellation of other honours held by Rt Hon Sir Douglas Graham, Hon Bill Jeffries and Lawrence Bryant LVO.
12 Comments
Knighthood ! Well it's all about attitude. The same pompous and self important attitude led Graham to leave both a mess in treaty negotiations, and many old people relieved of their hard earned savings. All the same self important incompetence in those two fiascos.
Gong.
R.I.P. honesty, no fair settlement here.
When is illegal, not illegal.??
When is a crime, not a crime??.
Some get their rewards in Heaven.
Some get their rewards up front, in kind, in cash, knightly, plundering the foolhardy coming and going.
Was his overpaid, over blown Ministerial work, not enough.
Is selling out our Nation citizens now worthy of a knighhood.
The bigger the crime, the bigger the rewards.
This must be the Friday Humour.
But I quess not.
The fooled people have got their just desserts. Fooled again.
Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me again, make me President Bush.
Seems to be a big joke, this reward lurk amongst the ruling elite and the banker friends.
I must remember to rob a bank, the legal ways, next time I am short of cash and in need of a laugh.
The big finger strikes again. !
That's great news, I must ring up my old dad and let him know, a dyed in the wool Nat supporter all his life - I'm sure he will be delighted - NOT.
A couple of months before TSHTF with Lombard he received Doug Graham's signed prospectus. All was rosy in Lombard Land. No mention of a loan book groaning with non performing debts, over a hundred million owed by spiv developers with no chance of recovery. Oh no, she's all sweet according to our Dougy boy. He put a big chunk of the familly fortune with the [----- Ed.]. What a joke - he should be ashamed to show his smug face in public never mind remain a Knight.
What a joke - he should be ashamed to show his smug face in public never mind remain a Knight.
While true Kiwidave , concern must be shown toward a system that allows such title to be held in spite of the evidence suggesting an unworthyness.
The politics of the "smug" as I've repeated is the prevailing attitude among what members of "the club" percieve as a class entitlement.
The contempt repeatedly displayed by those in "the club" demonstrates their understanding of public frustration over such blatant examples of rules for some, but all the while knowing the worst thing they will endure is ......................our apathy.
Somebody give that man a sword to fall upon, so we can label him a coward as well.
Oh he'll do his 200 hrs JT. probably giving the benifit of his Finacial advice to some Charity or Iwi ,unwittingly about to lose a bundle......Key's mittigation of the noble Sir's misdemeanor sends the message to the old guard, they still have their uses, connections, membership valued.
People like Graham and Fay render the title bestowed upon the more deserving worthless.
I mention Fay for a reason
Deals were done in which Fay and Richwhite personally gained over half a billion dollars (2.2% of NZ's 1985 GDP) from a country on the verge of bankruptcy, while their minority shareholders lost $277 million, by in part imitating the offshore financial practices outlawed in Europe and America 30 years prior.
One notable transaction among these actions was their role as advisors to the government on the sale of New Zealand Rail Limited to overseas interests; a deal in which Fay and Richwhite later brought 31.8 per cent of the shares, and were subsequently investigated for insider trading by NZ authorities.
This is a man who specialises in using political influence to gain strategic assets, then loads them with debt, pays himself an enormous "special dividend", and flicks them off.
Is this type of behaviour still happening...?mmmmmmprolly
Rinse and repeat Christov. Key supposedly doesn't think much of Fay yet Key is openly amoral when it comes to making money. As long as it's not technically illegal, it's okay. Ditto his coalition partners when the need arises.
Poor old Winston was villified over the Winebox and nearly ruined by legal expenses yet ended up having the last say with a High Court vindication. It was a sobering lesson though to journalists and other politicians about the financial risks of taking on wealthy elite and Fay proved that time and money are a great balm for a wounded ego and reputation
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