New Zealand Green Party MP Golriz Ghahraman was found to have shoplifted three times from stores in Auckland and Wellington.
Ghahraman said that the stress associated with his job led him to behave in a way that was out of character. "I let people down. I'm sorry," Ghahraman said.
Ghahraman resigned, taking responsibility for his actions after security footage emerged of him stealing designer handbags from a luxury boutique in Auckland.
The 42-year-old Iranian-born Ghahraman said, "It's not behavior I can explain because it doesn't make sense. After a medical assessment, I realized I was not well and the mental health professional I saw said my recent behavior was related to extreme stress and previously unrecognized trauma."
Ghahraman, a former UN human rights lawyer who came to New Zealand with his family from Iran, was sworn in as the first refugee MP to take office in the New Zealand government in 2017.
