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Daryl Maguire visa fraud case delayed by new evidence

Daryl Maguire said he'd fight to clear his name on a visa fraud conspiracy charge.

Daryl Maguire said he'd fight to clear his name on a visa fraud conspiracy charge. Photo: AAP

Tens of thousands of pages of new evidence have stalled a visa fraud case against ex-NSW Liberal MP Daryl Maguire as he awaits the findings of ICAC into his relationship with former premier Gladys Berejiklian.

On Tuesday, Maguire’s solicitor Jim Harrowell asked Magistrate Susan Horan to adjourn the matter to give his client time to peruse a 43,500-page report produced by crown prosecutors earlier this month.

The report relates to the contents of the mobile phone of Maggie Ning Logan, a migration agent who allegedly worked with Maguire to conduct the fraud.

Maguire, 64, allegedly conspired with Logan, 55, to breach the Migration Act between January 2013 and August 2015.

The former Wagga Wagga MP could face prison time or a maximum fine of $34,000.

Logan is accused of furnishing false or misleading information in visa documents on dozens of occasions over several years.

She will also need time to go through the report to redact anything sensitive.

Delays in the case come ahead of the Independent Commission Against Corruption releasing its findings on Thursday into a major inquiry into the former Wagga Wagga MP and Ms Berejiklian, who were in a secret relationship.

Outside the Downing Centre Local Court, Mr Harrowell told reporters he would read the ICAC report and said his client denied any allegations of corruption.

“My client denies that he’s behaved in a corrupt way,” he said.

“With the legal system, people are presumed innocent until found guilty.”

He said Maguire had been under investigation since 2018 when he stepped down from politics.

“That’s a long time. In most cases, if you want to bring a charge against somebody, you’ve got to do it very quickly,” he said.

The former MP was charged in November but has not yet entered a plea and his conditional bail was continued on Tuesday, as was Logan’s.

Maguire and Logan will sit down for a case conference with crown prosecutors on September 12, with their matters coming back before the Downing Centre Local Court on September 19.

Earlier this month, Maguire was hit with another charge of giving false and misleading evidence into an inquiry into the conduct of councillors of the former Canterbury City Council and others.

– AAP

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