NZ tycoon charged with child porn offences
SYDNEY Australian police have charged former corporate raider, New Zealander Ron Brierley, with child pornography offences, Australian media reported yesterday.
Brierley - who shot to fame by launching takeover bids for Australian corporate giants such as Carlton & United Breweries, AGL Energy and lottery operator Tatts - was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday, the Australian Broadcasting Corp and other media reported.
He was about to board a flight for Fiji, reports said.
New South Wales Police released a statement saying an 82-year-old man from Point Piper, the affluent Sydney suburb where Brierley lives, had been arrested at 6.30am. He was taken to a nearby police station and charged with six counts of possessing child abuse material, they said.
The charges relate to more than 200,000 images and 512 videos of alleged child abuse, senior police sources told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Police have been investigating Brierley since August after getting a tip-off from a member of the public, The Sydney Morning Herald said.
After his arrest, police checked his luggage and found devices that "are alleged to have contained large amounts of child abuse material".
Brierley has been granted strict conditional bail and is due to appear at a Sydney court on Feb 10, 2020.
He could not be immediately reached for comment, Reuters reported.
Brierley began his corporate career in 1961.
He started his own investment firm with virtually nothing in New Zealand.
By the 1980s, his company was the largest in New Zealand by market capitalisation. He then focused on Australia where he was known for shareholder activism.
He was made a knight in 1988 for services to business management and the community. An aggressive man, he would scold directors who did not do well publicly.
In June he ended his corporate work after he resigned as chairman of Mercantile Investment, though he remains a director.- REUTERS
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
