The 83-year-old Timaru accountant will strenuously fight the 50 charges, his lawyer, Russell McVeagh's Mike Heron, says.
Serious Fraud Office chief executive Adam Feeley yesterday announced the charges, which carry penalties of up to a decade's jail, exactly 12 months after SFO action was announced.
Mr Heron vowed to clear Hubbard's name on filing an immediate strike-out application.
"The charges are strenuously denied by Mr Hubbard," Mr Heron said after a hearing in the Timaru District Court.
Hubbard's wife, Jean, was was not charged, although she is a director of Aorangi Finance and Hubbard Management Funds.
Asked if she was worried, she said: "Yes, no, of course we are. All the charges are just ridiculous."
Mr Feeley said the SFO did not intend to lay charges against any other current or former director of Aorangi Securities Ltd, and securities regulators would not take proceedings separately to the criminal prosecutions.
Hubbard challenged the SFO's decision to pursue him.
"I suppose it is designed to destroy me ... but I see they are abandoning Hotchin now," he said, referring to a statement by Mr Feeley raising difficulties with its probe into Hanover Finance and co-founder Mark Hotchin.
The $1.6 billion collapse of the Hubbard-founded South Canterbury Finance (SCF) was the largest Government-backed failure in the finance sector.
The Hubbards were put in statutory management a year ago but the company which tipped them over was not SCF, in which 30,000 people had life savings.
Instead, it was the smaller Aorangi, Hubbard's own business which he operated in conjunction with his Timaru accountancy practice.
Last June, the SFO said there were reasonable grounds to believe "an offence involving serious or complex fraud may have been committed".
Aorangi owes about 400 investors $90 million to $100 million, according to the SFO. The 50 charges involve theft by a person in special relationship, false statement by a promoter and false accounting.
They carry a maximum 10-year jail sentence.
Hubbard backers yesterday reiterated their support.
John Funnell, of the Leave Allan Hubbard Alone supporters' group which has 4369 members, said he would stand by the Hubbards.
"I feel sorry for the poor old bugger. The whole thing is unfortunate. "There are many of us who believe any of the financial shortfalls were not as a result of fraud, certainly not on the part of Mr Hubbard."
A second support group, the Stand by Hubbard support team, said last night it had commissioned its own investigator who would release a report within days.
Mr Feeley dismissed the support. "Throughout the investigation we have been aware of the level of public interest in and support for Mr Hubbard and the issues of Mr Hubbard's age and health which have been raised by his lawyers.
"However, we also have to consider the interests of justice and the interests of the investors relative to the evidence we have obtained during our inquiries," he said.
Grant Thornton, statutory managers of Aorangi Securities and Hubbard Management Funds, said yesterday its reporting to investors at the end of this month would go ahead as scheduled.
