January 22, 2017
SFO eyes Arawa leader Roger Pikia
There are calls for Te Arawa River Iwi Trust chair Roger Pikia to stand down while he is under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office.
The office has confirmed it is looking into Mr Pikia, but won’t say what particular deals or activities it is concerned with.
It was reported last year the Ngati Tahu Ngati Whaoa Runanga, which Mr Pikia chairs, had invested in a failing Tongan forestry company.
Expenses relating to a trip he made up to Tonga were charged to his river iwi trust credit card.
Mr Pikia also invested river trust money in Ka Ora Ltd, a health food company in which he is a director and shareholder along with former Te Puni Kokiri chief executive Sir Wira Gardiner.
Other boards he is on include the Waikato River Authority and Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa Trust, which manages Te Arawa's Treaty settlement money.
Mataatua District Maori Council chair Maanu Paul says beneficiaries of the various trusts need to be confident their assets are in safe hands, and Mr Pikia needs to stand down until the investigation is complete.
Te Arawa Lakes trust chair Sir Toby Curtis says there is widespread concern in the iwi about Mr Pikia’s activities, and he needs to step aside.
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