SPCS

SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.

Securities Commission’s silence far from golden [re Property Ventures Ltd insolvency]

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Opinion-Piece – Pre-receivership papers on Property Ventures [Limited] suggests our regulators have some explaining to do. writes Chalkie. Just as a dung beetle likes nothing better than burrowing into a big steaming cowpat, providentially plopped into its path by a benevolent donor, Chalkie loves a good document dump. In this case the documents come from the old Securities Commission, since renamed the Financial Markets Authority, and the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employment. They reveal how overseas investors were stiffed by Christchurch-based property developer Property Ventures, more than two years before the company fell into receivership owing $69 million. They show an impotent regulator, unable to act and repeatedly complaining about unanswered correspondence.

They reveal a conflict of interest at the Companies Office [ involving the registrar of companies Mr Neville Harris] that might have affected an inspection of Property Ventures under the Securities Act….

Property Ventures was a development and investment company founded by motivational speaker Adolf de Roos and led by Christchurch-based developer David Ian Henderson….

For more go to: http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/10065328/Securities-Commissions-silence-far-from-golden

“Chalkie” is written by Fairfax business bureau deputy editor Tim Hunter

For further reading see:

Article published by SPCS on 16 May 2014

David Ian Henderson – Property Ventures Ltd (In Liq.) and role of Liquidator

Problem Gambling Foundation of NZ: A charity’s ‘political advocacy’ and litigation

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It was announced in the NZ Herald on Monday (19/03/14) that The Problem Gambling Foundation [“PGF”], will take the Ministry of Health to court to try to overturn a decision the ministry recently made, under which PGF will lose most of its funding (apart from its Asian Family Services), in favour of the Salvation Army. PGF claim, with support from Labour Party and Green Party spokespersons (see below), that there are big questions yet to be answered over the alleged flawed process behind that decision, one which could leave many of its 63 employed staff out of a job. The foundation has been the key provider of addiction and treatment services for gambling problems for about 20 years and has dealt with 25,000 people in that time.

The Society for Promotion of Community Standards Inc  points out that what the media needs to investigate more fully are the implications of the fact that (1) The Problem Gambling Foundation of New Zealand [“PGF”] is a registered charity (registered on 1 May 2008 – Reg. No. CC23709) – and as such cannot be involved in political advocacy – which it has been, and (2) it received $4.7 million in tax-payer fund income in 2013 ($4.6 m in 2012) , via the Ministry of Health budget, the very Ministry it intends to take Court action against via an expensive High Court judicial review. Furthermore, the media has not highlighted the fact that PGF does not have anything in its constitution authorising its trustees/officers to allow the foundation to be involved in litigation involving tax-payer sourced money (via Ministry of Health funding) and/or from donors who can claim tax rebates (because PGF is a registered charity). [Read more…]

Police bid to seize finance director property

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Police have made a formal bid in the High Court to seize property they allege is associated with a failed finance company director who is serving more than eight years in jail for fraud and misleading investors.

Police took unprecedented action last year to restrain assets they said were associated with two jailed Capital + Merchant Finance [founding directors], Neal Nicholls and Wayne Douglas….

Nicholls is serving eight years six months in jail and Douglas eight years two months. This followed a Serious Fraud Office trial where both men were found guilty of theft by a person in a special relationship for loans totalling almost $20 million. They loaned money for their own benefit in breach of Capital + Merchants trust deed. C+M collapsed in 2007 owing $167 million to investors.

See full story by Hamish Fletcher. Published 19 May 2014

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11257283

David Ian Henderson – Property Ventures Ltd (In Liq.) and role of Liquidator

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David Ian Henderson is a twice bankrupt Christchurch property developer whose Group of companies – Property Ventures Ltd [“PVL”]- were placed in liquidation on 27 July 2010. On 9 June 2014 Mr Henderson will be examined as a current bankrupt before the High Court to give account of his various activities while subject to the bankruptcy order (Note: It is unlawful for a current bankrupt to play any role in the management, directing or promoting of a company).

One of the tasks of a Liquidator nominated by the Commissioner of Inland Revenue and appointed by the High Court to liquidate a large Group of companies such as PVL, is to try and determine whether or not a director(s) of the Group has committed any offence(s) under the Companies Act 1993, the Insolvency Act 2006, The Securities Act,  the Tax Administration Act 1994, or the Financial Reporting Act 1993 etc., and report any breach(es) to the Registrar of Companies.

The task of unravelling the often convoluted network of company subsidiaries and related companies within such a Group can be a daunting one for any Liquidator, as illustrated in the example below – involving ongoing litigation initiated by the Liquidator against David Ian Henderson (and his companies) because he has allegedly failed for some years to provide the required documentation to him the liquidator to complete his statutory duties. Liquidators have a statutory right under s. 261 of the Companies Act 1993 to demand financial records, records of company related correspondence etc. from a company director. Failure to provide it in response to a formal request is an offence and if  convicted, the director “is liable to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years” under s. 373(3) of the Act.

The liquidator has reported that a proliferation of companies were used by Henderson to “thwart liquidators,” by liberally using cross-guarantees to muddle the affairs of various entities.

Property Ventures Ltd (In liquidation) – Unravelling a complex “single economic unit”  [Read more…]

Liquidators seek to bankrupt fraudster David Ross

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Fraudster DAVID Robert Gilmour ROSS took $3.5 million from his company before it went broke and liquidators want it back.

Part of the cash will come from Ross’s share of household goods from his Lower Hutt mansion, due to be auctioned.

Liquidators will seek to bankrupt Ross, following the settlement of a $3.5m debt he and his wife owed his company, Ross Asset Management.

In November, Ross was jailed for 10 years and 10 months for operating a fraudulent scheme in which private investors lost about $115m.

Ross Asset Management (Ram) fleeced at least 700 investors through portfolios in which they thought they had more than $380m.

For full story on by Hamish McNicol published 15/05/14 go to:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/10045559/Liquidators-seek-to-bankrupt-fraudster-Ross