The Financial Markets Authority has issued its first ever ‘stop order’ against a company linked to a controversial Hamilton housing development. [Read more…]
New Zealand’s history of Ponzi schemers
In five of the last nine years, ponzi schemers have been banged up in jail as a result of their nefarious actions.
Between 1991 to 2012, New Zealand had at least one active Ponzi schemer at work at all times, most under the old Securities Commission, which was ineffectual and was swept away to be replaced by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).
The FMA can’t guarantee there are no ponzi schemes operating as you read this. [Read more…]
Strategic Finance Ltd: “Duped investors want full disclosure”
Deputy editor of the Fairfax Business Bureau, Tim Hunter (“Chalkie”) has expressed his doubts today about a statement made by the Financial Marketing Authority (FMA) that six former directors of the Strategic Finance Ltd, who were recently banned for five years from directing a finance company, have ” limited personal assets” (Dompost, June 11, 2014). He implies that it was for this reason that the FMA took the view that they were unable to contribute anything from their own “piggy banks” to help compensate investors who lost millions due to the company’s collapse, and/or contribute to the settlement made between them and their auditors, and the company’s receivers. He argues: “Most likely, for at least some of them, their assets are held in trusts and arm’s length structures that keep their personal assets to a minimum.”
As examples “Chalkie” highlights the residential addresses given by Strategic Finance directors on the Companies Office website, as required by law, that indicate a wealthy lifestyle with assets held in trust. [Read more…]
Strategic Finance: Former directors barred from directing finance companies for five years
The auditors and former directors of Strategic Finance Limited have settled civil action brought by the receivers of the failed finance company and agreed to pay $22 million. Some 10,000 Strategic investors owed $367.8 million have already been repaid 10 cents in the dollar, or $36.8 million, and the receiver, PwC’s, John Fisk, still estimates they will get between 12% and 20% of their principal back following the latest settlement.
The settlement will see former directors Kerry Finnigan, Graham Edward Jackson, Marcel Aubrey Lindale, Timothy John Rich, Denis Grenville Thom and David John Wolfenden barred from directing finance companies for five years. [FMA remains of the view that they are likely to have breached their disclosure obligations under the Securities Act see below]
“The terms of the settlement deliver a strong deterrence message and include enforceable undertakings from the directors of Strategic not to act as a director of an issuer of securities to the public for five years,” Belinda Moffat, director of enforcement of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), said.
But one investor thinks most of those who have lost money will not believe justice has been served, with the directors seeming to have “got away with murder.”
The FMA is refusing to say exactly who will be making the payment. [Read more…]
Financial Markets Authority warns St Laurence directors
The Financial Markets Authority has warned the directors of failed finance company St Laurence instead of taking court action.
St Laurence collapsed into receivership in 2010 owing $212 million to more than 9000 debenture-holders, of which its receivers recovered 16.7 cents in the dollar ($35.4m). It is in liquidation.
The authority has closed its investigation into the company and has formally warned eight directors over what it describes as potential breaches of the Securities Act.
It said that based on the evidence it had seen, it considered that St Laurence’s September 2007 prospectus failed to properly disclose information about loan quality and liquidity for the period from March to June 2008. [Read more…]