McManus Claims “Psychiatric Trauma” Behind The 'Seven Hundred Large Suitcase' Scandal

A celebrity Aus promoter has gone on the record about the bizarre case that led to his recent guilty plea in court.

Melbourne music promoter, Andrew McManus, has finally spoken out about the string of charges he faced in connection to a suitcase containing more than $700,000, found in a Sydney hotel in 2011. Going on the record for the first time about the bizarre saga, McManus fervently denied being part of a money laundering or drug syndicate, and to ever having had possession of the seven-large at the centre of the scandal.
 
The 55-year-old behind the most recent Australian tour of American rock icons KISS, has been tight-lipped about the alleged clandestine activities, which also saw the arrests of Craig Haeusler, lawyer Michael Croke, and Sydney small business owner Zeki Atilgen in Australia and US businessman Owen Hanson Junior in San Diego, in August.
 
McManus has how broken his silence with a statement, seemingly issued as damage control for his recently tarnished reputation. The itemised, one-page document claims that three charges made on 23 August – two counts of publishing a false statement with the intention of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage and one count of participating in a criminal group – have been dropped by NSW Police and the Department of Public Prosecutions.
 
McManus has, however, pleaded guilty to the remaining charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice, specifically in relation to a four-month period in 2012. The statement claims that McManus’ “role in the offence was limited,” as well as claiming extenuating circumstances due to “serious psychiatric trauma, in part due to the breakdown of his marriage in 2011.”
 
The statement continues , saying that McManus has been “cooperative with the police at all times in relation to this matter,” as well as adding that he felt “deeply remorseful for his conduct and will take his justice in the District Court on March 31, 2017.”
 
McManus also confirmed that the Raggamuffin Music Festival at Trust Stadium, Auckland – an annual event founded by McManus in 2008 – will go ahead as planned next February.
 
The case continues.