Dotcom told the newspaper that Banks asked him to divide the payments into two installments of NZ$25,000 each so as to conceal their origin, and that the local politician called him personally to thank him. However, in a statement on his website, Banks denied calling Dotcom for the mayoral donations, adding: “I could not have, as any such contribution was anonymous.”
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, with whom Banks’ ACT New Zealand party is in political coalition, also stepped into the fray over the weekend, saying that he trusted Banks, and that the police should investigate any potential wrongdoing.
