Daryl Maguire, the former Liberal Party MP for Wagga Wagga, is on trial in the NSW District Court after pleading not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit an offence related to a visa scheme that operated between 2013 and 2015.
During the trial, the defence argued it was "unbelievable" to think Maguire would recruit people in his electorate to participate in an allegedly fraudulent visa scheme. The barrister told the court that Maguire was "kept in the dark" about the fraudulent components of the scheme.
Mr McLachlan, representing Maguire, emphasized that his client's role was limited to approaching businesses, primarily within his electorate, to participate. "His role was to identify … Mr Maguire refers people to Maggie [Wang] and she takes over," he said. Maguire had no direct involvement in producing or furnishing documents related to the scheme.
The initiative focused on gaining permanent residency for Chinese nationals. The defence also noted that Maguire faced a similar situation as the businesses involved and maintained that he believed the scheme was legitimate with no reason to misrepresent the situation.
The jury is set to retire to consider its verdict.
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