Former CBL Insurance CEO Peter Harris has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges over his alleged actions that led to the liquidation of the New Zealand insurer in November 2018.

He made the plea last week in the Auckland District Court, telling insuranceNEWS.com.au later that he “welcomes the opportunity to finally bring the wider picture of the CBL saga before the court”.

In December the New Zealand Serious Fraud Office filed eight charges against him following an investigation into the insurer’s collapse.

Five of the charges relate to “theft by person in special relationship” and another two involve deception, according to the Serious Fraud Office. The last charge accuses him of false accounting.

The same charges have also been filed against a second defendant - whose name is suppressed - who also entered a not guilty plea in the court last week.

The two defendants have been remanded on bail and are scheduled to next appear in the district court on April 30. The trial will be before a jury.

“The court is a proper forum to respond to these allegations and to challenge the regulatory response that placed CBL Insurance Group, and its investors’ funds, at risk,” Mr Harris says in a statement to insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“Given the matters are now before the court it is not appropriate to comment further. The full facts will be before the court and in the public domain in time.”

CBL Corporation, the parent company of CBL Insurance, was placed into liquidation in May last year.