A Sri Lankan-born man arrested over a murder 14 years ago in Switzerland has been let out on electronically monitored bail.

And the 42-year-old Grey Lynn business owner will continue to keep his name secret, a judge ruled at the Auckland District Court on Wednesday.

Defence lawyer Grant Illingworth QC told the court there were identification issues, raising concerns whether there could be a fair trial in Switzerland if his client was named.

And naming his client would put his wife and two children in danger, Illingworth argued.

But crown lawyer Simon Barr said merely naming him didn't rule out the chance of a fair trial as naming the accused was the norm.

Judge David Sharp found the effect on the sale of the man's businesses, the running of his business and on his children if he was named wasn't enough to justify continued name suppression.

But Judge Sharp gave him interim name suppression as he said the publication of his name had a potential to influence fair trial proceedings.

The arguments around the bail application can't be reported, although the 42-year-old will have to put up a $25,000 surety.

The 42-year-old's wife was in court and grew visibly upset during the two-hour hearing.

The man was arrested last month on behalf of the Swiss government, which wants to extradite him and charge him with murdering his former partner, 23-year-old Kavitha Kandiah.

Kandiah died in the Swiss city of Basel on December 13, 2000.

Police earlier said the man arrived in New Zealand in February 2001 using false ID and travel documents, and was granted New Zealand citizenship in 2004. The extradition hearing is likely to take place next year.

New Zealand has no extradition arrangement with Switzerland, where the arrested man lived from 1990 to late 2000.
(NZ Newswire)