The Overseas Investment Office (OIO) is continuing to look at whether UBNZ Funds Management Ltd, directed by Chinese busineswoman May Wang, breached the Overseas Investment Act 2005 by not obtaining required consents for the purchase of two farms on February 11, 2010, at Norsewood in southern Hawke’s Bay and Waitotara in south Taranaki, and two others four days later in the Manawatu. [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…]