One of New Zealand's wealthiest and most respected businessmen, Sir Ron Brierley, has reportedly been arrested at Sydney Airport and charged with possession of child pornography.

The 82 year old corporate raider - who founded R A Brierley Investments, New Zealand's largest listed company until the 1987 crash - has sat on numerous company boards in his home country, in Australia and the UK.

When in Sydney, he resides in Australia's most expensive street, Point Piper's Wolseley Road.

According to NSW Police, detectives from Eastern Suburbs Police Area Command commenced an investigation into the possession of child abuse material in the local area in August.

Laptop searched

On Tuesday, an 82 year old was stopped by Australian Border Force officers at Mascot airport about 6.30 am while trying to board a plane for Fiji, police said.

"The man’s carry-on luggage was searched before the contents of his laptop and electronic storage devices were reviewed, which are alleged to have contained large amounts of child abuse material," the police statement said.

"The Point Piper man was taken to Mascot Police Station and charged with six counts of possess child abuse material."

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Sir Ron was knighted in 1988 and is a former trustee of the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust, former president of New Zealand Cricket and former chairman of the Bank of New Zealand.

He retired from business in June this year.

"Due to age and health issues, I can no longer give the total commitment to the company which it requires and which shareholders deserve," Brierley said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

He was granted strict conditional bail and will appear at Downing Centre Local Court on February 10.