Runaway Westpac millionaire Leo Gao is expected to seek bail when he reappears in court in Rotorua today.
The 30-year-old is facing charges of theft and money laundering after he allegedy skipped the country with more than $6 million of Westpac money.
He was remanded in custody when he appeared in court just before Christmas, after being extradited from Hong Kong. He is yet to enter a plea.
The charges were laid after Gao fled New Zealand in 2009 following an embarrassing Westpac glitch that saw $10 million appear in his overdrawn account.
Gao wanted to apply for bail on Friday but with only a Justice of the Peace available on the last working day before Christmas he was remanded in custody until a bail hearing on January 5, Fairfax Media reported.
"You've picked an awkward time of the year for the courts to execute this in a hurried fashion," Justice of the Peace Barry Garland told Gao.
Gao, a failed Rotorua gas station owner, was arrested at the Hong Kong border in September and appeared in court in late October.
Last month he agreed to be extradited to New Zealand. He appeared in Manukau District Court on Wednesday.
Gao and his girlfriend Kara Hurring left the country, and authorities have been working to recover $6.782 million in outstanding funds.
Hurring, 32, re-entered New Zealand earlier this year and was arrested on related charges. She is due to stand trial in February.
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