A man dubbed the "runaway millionaire" has successfully applied for electronically-monitored bail in Auckland.
Leo Gao, 31, was excused from appearing at the High Court at Auckland where his lawyer Ron Mansfiled applied for bail this morning.
The Crown opposed the application but Justice Murray Gilbert SC suppressed all legal arguments. He delivered his decision at 4pm. The reasons behind his decision have also been suppressed.
Gao faces 16 charges of theft of $6,782,000 and two charges of money laundering at the Rotorua District Court.
The charges relate to offending alleged to have been committed between April 24 and May 5, 2009 in Rotorua and Auckland.
Gao had applied to Westpac for a $100,000 overdraft in 2009 for his struggling BP petrol station but the bank accidentally transferred a $10 million overdraft into his account. When he realised the error he allegedly skipped the country.
His partner Kara Hurring, and the mother of his child, followed days later.
Gao is accused of transferring almost $6.8m of Westpac's money into several accounts before fleeing the country.
About $3.9m has not been recovered.
The couple's disappearance sparked an international manhunt involving Interpol and other overseas agencies.
Gao was arrested in Hong Kong in September and was returned to New Zealand just before Christmas. He did not oppose being extradited and was remanded in custody.
Hurring, 32, was arrested when she re-entered New Zealand earlier last year. She faces trial in May.
