News

A 1922 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost has been discovered inside a container at Port Otago’s Dunedin container yard. The Rolls-Royce, found earlier this month, has never been registered in New Zealand, and it is yet to be confirmed whether the original body remains in place. Even in its current state, the vehicle could be worth up to a quarter of a million dollars.

Marketed towards owner-drivers in the 1920s, the Silver Ghost became popular with the growing professional middle class of doctors, solicitors and businessmen. With a six-cylinder engine and capacity of 3,127cc, the cars had a maximum speed of 62 miles per hour (or 100 kilometres per hour). The last batch of Silver Ghosts was built in 1927.

The Rolls-Royce is believed to be linked to fraudster Michael Swann. Swann was the Chief Information Officer of the Otago District Health Board until 2006, when he was fired for “gross mismanagement.” Swann, along with Kerry Harford, was later convicted for defrauding the board to the tune of $16.9 million.

Critic spoke to a car dealer who is involved with the case but wishes to remain anonymous. “We sold many cars to him. He was a high flyer and money was never a problem. Trouble is it wasn’t his, it was everybody else’s money,” the dealer said.

Between 2000 and 2006, Sonnford Solutions, an IT services company founded by Harford, made out 198 invoices – to the sum of $16.9 million – to the Otago DHB for services never provided. Harford retained 10 per cent of the $16.9 million, whilst the remaining 90 per cent was transferred to Swann or to entities he controlled.

Swann was on a salary of $145,000, but received an average additional income of $43,000 a week from his dirty deeds with Otago DHB. Over the six years, Swann earnt the nickname “money-bags” after making some purchases with suitcases of cash. He is believed to have spent $11.6 million on top-end cars, boats and properties.

Swann was released on parole to a Christchurch address last month, having served only four years and eight months of his nearly 10 month sentence and still owing nearly $6 million in DBH funds. Consequently, many patients are left facing delayed surgeries and general medical care whilst Swann moves in to a friend’s luxury $1 million home, complete with indoor swimming pool.

Detective Senior Sergeant John Ferguson told Critic that “we are applying to court to have the car confiscated as part of the pecuniary penalty order of $6 million which was made against Swann.” This means any assets found to have been purchased using criminal funds may be seized, and the Rolls-Royce could potentially be auctioned off to the public some time in the future.