Four men charged with fraud relating to the collapse of South Canterbury Finance will have their trial heard in front of a judge, not a jury.
At a pre-trial hearing at the High Court in Timaru on Wednesday, Justice Paul Heath confirmed the Crown's application for a judge alone, but denied its application for the case to be shifted from Timaru to Christchurch.
The three month trial is scheduled to begin in March next year.
Three of the men have pleaded guilty to 18 fraud charges, and a fourth man will enter his plea at a later date.
South Canterbury Finance was placed in receivership in 2010, owing $1.6 billion.
