Serious Fraud Office mortgage fraud prosecution sees Gurraj Singh Bhachu sentenced to nine months’ home detention

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced that Gurraj Singh Bhachu has been sentenced to nine months’ home detention at the Auckland District Court, becoming the second defendant in the SFO’s investigation into alleged mortgage fraud to be sentenced. Bhachu pleaded guilty in September 2025 to 12 charges relating to four properties, and the court also imposed six months’ standard release conditions. Bhachu made false representations to banks and conveyancing solicitors to obtain bank loans totalling NZD 2,862,650 for three residential properties, and to obtain control of residential properties for himself or others. The conduct included providing false documents about business income and cash gifts, the true borrower, and deposits paid; he left New Zealand in 2019 and was arrested and charged by the SFO after returning in December 2023. The SFO has charged six people in the wider mortgage and investment fraud case, alleging more than NZD 8.6 million in lending was obtained and a further NZD 2.9 million was attempted. The trial of Christopher Peters and Robert Peters is scheduled for February 2026, while trial dates for Gerard Peters and Serene Peters have not yet been set.