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Clark to speak with foreign minister over fraud claims

By New Zealand correspondent Kerri Ritchie

Posted August 29, 2008 13:42:00
Updated August 29, 2008 14:03:00

Winston Peters says he knows nothing about the money.

Winston Peters says he knows nothing about the money. (Reuters: David Gray)

New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark is under increasing pressure to sack her Foreign Affairs Minister, Winston Peters, who is being investigated over undeclared political donations.

The Serious Fraud Office is looking into whether two donations made to Mr Peters' New Zealand First Party reached their intended destination.

The Foreign Minister is also being investigated by parliament's privileges committee over a $100,000 donation from a billionaire businessman.

Mr Peters says he knows nothing about the money.

But the opposition leader, the National's John Key, says Mr Peters must be sacked.

"Can he seriously go abroad and continue to represent New Zealand as our Minister of Foreign Affairs?" he said.

Mr Peters says the media is out to get him.

"The public has been mostly vilely misinformed," he said.

Miss Clark will meet with Mr Peters this afternoon to discuss his political future.

Tags: government-and-politics, world-politics, fraud-and-corporate-crime, new-zealand

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