$46k tummy tuck mystery
Who used Ma¯ ori King’s fund to pay for surgery?
ACharities Services investigation into alleged misappropriation at the office of the Ma¯ori King is concentrating on a mysterious $46,000 invoice for weight-loss surgery.
The Herald on Sunday has reviewed other invoices issued by the same hospital for the same gastric band procedure, and the September 2016 invoice in question differs from others in omitting details that identified the patient.
Exactly who had the expensive procedure done privately at Auckland’s MercyAscot Hospital, paid for out of a Tainui Group Holdings fund dedicated to the healthcare of King Tu¯ heitia Paki, is unknown. Although the King has had the procedure, his operation pre-dates the invoice in question by three years.
Tukoroirangi Morgan, who from 2012 until late last year was the King’s representative to Tainui’s executive arm, said he was involved in setting up the fund later used to pay the invoice. “The funds that were set aside for medical assistance for the King were there for him, and him alone.”
Morgan claimed those terms were clearly outlined “to the King and everyone close to the office to the King”. Morgan said the Charities Services investigation was a serious matter: “No one’s above the law. We have to comply with it. And we are duty-bound to live within the boundaries of the charitable tax status, and any contravention of this is a major concern for all us tribal members.”
A spokesman for Internal Affairs, which oversees the Charities Services, said as the investigation was ongoing the department’s ability to comment was limited. “The Department is making good progress on what is a complex case involving the investigation of an individual associated with the trust,” the spokesman said.
Sources said internal debate at Tainui had seen the finger initially
pointed at a relative of the King, but documents reviewed by the Herald on Sunday showed that operation was in 2014 and paid for by other sources.
The King’s principal secretary, Rangi Whakaruru, also had the operation. Whakaruru has not replied to emails or phone calls over the past six months but this week said at Auckland Airports’ domestic arrivals gate he was aware of the Charities Services’ interest in the invoice.
Whakaruru, who is paid a salary of more than $200,000 from the charity handling the King’s affairs, denied it related to his own treatment.
A trim-looking Whakaruru confirmed his weight loss was due to recent gastric band surgery, but told the Herald on Sunday he was unable to recall exactly when the operation took place.
Whakaruru said he had it done for health reasons. “It’s about looking after yourself,” he said.
Asked how the procedure was paid for, he said “by myself”.
In a subsequent email Whakaruru declined to provide proof of payment, or sign a waiver allowing MercyAscot to release invoicing details for his operation. “I have no comment on what [you] are asking,” he said.
Whakaruru has been a close confidante to King Tu¯heitia since 2009.
Andrew Wong, the managing director of MercyAscot said patient confidentiality and privacy laws meant he was also unable to resolve the mystery for the Herald on Sunday.
“Nor am I in a position to comment on what may or may not have been said to you by the patient concerned as related to the invoice,” he said.
Asked about the unusual nature of the invoice submitted to Tainui, particularly the blank spaces where patient identification details are typically printed, Wong said: “At times we are requested to direct invoices in a certain way, and we accommodate those requests.
“Whatever the arrangement is between the patient and the person to whom the invoice is sent is a matter for them to handle as they see fit.”
Tainui chief executive Donna Flavell and spokesman Jason Ake, did not reply to questions and calls this week.