A judge has reserved her decision on whether or not to bankrupt May Wang, the woman fronting the bid to buy 16 former Crafar dairy farms following the collapse of Dynasty Group. A case was brought by Inland Revenue and resulted in a four-day hearing in the High Court at Auckland, which concluded today [Tuesday 9 Nov]. [Read more…]
Crafar Farms, Foreign ownership, May Wang & the Overseas Investment Act 2005
Enforcement agencies such as the National Enforcement Unit (NEU) of the Ministry of Economic Development (MED), the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), the judiciary (the Courts/Justice system) and the Overseas Investment Office (OIO), all play a key role in upholding community standards, prescribed in law, promoting and serving the “public good” and advancing the welfare of New Zealanders.
The following is a case study that raises a number of pertinent questions about the role of the above agencies in upholding community standards. The spiritual, social and economic welfare of the public suffers when fraud, corruption and exploitation of the economically vulnerable is allowed to go unchecked.
On 21 October 2010 the SFO commenced a part I investigation into the financial transactions between Hong Kong-based Natural Dairy (NZ) Holdings Ltd and three NZ registered companies directed by Ms May Yan Wang: namely UBNZ Trustee Ltd, UBNZ Assets Holdings Ltd and UBNZ Funds Management Ltd. The focus is the involvement of these companies in the purchase of 16 dairy farms formerly owned by the Crafter family company that was put into receivership on 5 October 2009. [Read more…]
Prison project for former bookseller
Patricia Morrison (pictured: see link below) volunteered to help out half a day a week at Arohata Women’s Prison Library in 2002. Her book knowledge soon became apparent and she was invited to help set up a library at Rimutaka Prison which then had 500 inmates, but no library facility. Since then she has been a library volunteer working half a day a week at either Rimutaka or Mount Crawford, more correctly known as Wellington Prison. Morrison doesn’t have a title: “I’m just known as the neat lady who gets books.” Eight years later, this involvement with prison library services sees her undertaking two projects – first a relatively major spend on new books to increase the size of prison and correctional facilities libraries throughout the country, and second a review of all those 20 libraries, from Ngawha in Northland to the southernmost in Invercargill, including the three prisons for women. For full report dated 20 May 2010 see: http://www.booksellers.co.nz/book-news/trade-news/prison-project-former-bookseller
Cheyenne Insurance Company (NZ) Ltd: When is an ‘insurance’ company a real insurance company?
On 7 September 2010 the Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2010 was approved by the NZ Parliament and received the Royal Assent. It embodies a wide range of legislative reforms that are well overdue and are overwhelmingly supported by industry members. Under s. 219 and 220 of the Act it is an offence for a company to use in its name any of the following words, unless the company is legitimately engaged in lawful insurance transactions, those words being “insurance”, “assurance”, “underwriter”, and “reinsurance” or words with identical meanings.
So where does this leave privately owned so-called ‘insurance’ companies such as the obscure entity Cheyenne Insurance Company (NZ) Ltd that are not lawfully entitled to engage in any insurance transactions, and which appear to have been largely operating in property development transactions in New Zealand, largely based in Central Otago?
Cheyenne Insurance, directed by American businessman John M Carr CPA (see photo – http://www.carr.co.nz/images/jmc.jpg) since 24 May 1991 and owned by him since 26 July 1990, has never deposited the required security (minimum $500,000) with the NZ Public Trust that would entitle it to lawfully engage in insurance transactions in New Zealand under the Insurance Companies’ Deposits Act 1953. Then what exactly is it doing in New Zealand? [Read more…]
James Mason "Court win looks possible for dad"
A COURT victory may finally be in sight for a man waiting to see if his conviction will be overturned for assaulting his misbehaving four-year old son.
Father-of-six James Mason, 52, a hotel maintenance man and musician, said being convicted had gutted him.
Dominion Post Wednesday 20 October p. A6. www.dompost.co.nz