A former justice minister, convicted over the collapse of Lombard Finance, is facing prosecution for refusing to reveal a source of information in a separate legal case.
Bill Jeffries was one of four Lombard Finance bosses - including another former justice minister, Sir Douglas Graham - found guilty in February of making untrue statements in the company's investment documents and advertisements in late 2007 and early 2008.
Lombard Finance went into receivership in April 2008, owing approximately $127 million to about 4400 investors.
Jeffries now faces a charge of breaching the Privacy Act for refusing to reveal where he got immigration information about a couple who were locked in a legal battle with a firm he represented as a barrister, Fairfax reports.
Jeffries represented architecture firm Interact in 2000 as it attempted to recover unpaid fees from American couple Marc and Ivy Powell for work on their luxury home in the Marlborough Sounds.
In 2003, Jeffries received leaked information about the couple's movements in and out of New Zealand and applied to the Immigration Service for information on their successful residency applications.
The Powells complained to the Privacy Commissioner, suspecting Jeffries already had information from either Immigration or Customs.
In 2006, the Privacy Commissioner ordered Jeffries to disclose his source, and several of his legal appeals - including to the Supreme Court - were rejected.
He appeared in the Wellington District Court on Thursday for a defended hearing, claiming he did not believe in 2003 he could be forced to reveal his source.
Jeffries said he would not have used the information in the Interact case if it meant having to reveal the source's identity.
The hearing has been adjourned until August.
If convicted, Jeffries faces a fine of up to $2000.
NZN