A man who set a car alight in Wellington's Cuba Mall has pleaded guilty to arson and threatening to kill.
Christopher Palenski, 40, of Taupo, called police on November 22 last year, warning devices would explode at the Reserve Bank and Stock Exchange in Wellington at midday that day.
He also called both organisations with the threat, and watched as police experts with sniffer dogs were brought in.
Four days later, on election day, Palenski set fire to a car in the central Wellington pedestrian mall in an apparent protest against the banking system.
Material in the car exploded, and Palenski tried to prevent people from extinguishing the blaze.
He pleaded guilty to the arson charge and two charges of threatening to kill in Wellington District Court on Thursday, Fairfax reports.
Judge Bruce Davidson remanded Palenski in custody for sentencing in April.
NZN