SOCIETY FOR PROMOTION OF COMMUNITY STANDARDS INC.
Charity warns of email scam – NZPA 4 April 2011
Full story: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/4845694/Charity-warns-of-email-scam
A [legitimate] United States-based charity [CHOICE Humanitarian] is warning New Zealanders not to respond to unsolicited emails using its name and promising large sums of money. [Read more…]
Finally, on 24 December 2010, the Registrar of Companies struck off Computer South Ltd (which had its registered office for over 13 years with Checketts McKay Law, Wanaka), from the Companies Office list of registered companies. ‘Directed’ by plumber Peter Bruce Ibbotson since it was incorporated on 20 March 1997, with Iain Grant Fyfe, a partner in Checketts McKay, as one of its three original shareholders and its solicitor; the company continued to ‘trade’ up to as recently as 20 April 2009 when its Annual Return was filed on line by Fiona Browne, agent for Checketts McKay.
A Serious Fraud Investigation commenced in 2006 into the activities of the real “director” of Computer South Ltd, Michael Andrew Swann, found that it had no assets, no employees and filed no tax returns. It was used by convicted fraudster Swann, a banned company director and bankrupt, as his de facto bank account for laundering millions of dollars he gained by fraud from the tax-payer funded Otago District Health Board, while he was employed there as information technology manager from 2000-2006.
An online record dated 22 September 2006, made by Kathleen Elizabeth Bennett, agent for Checketts McKay, proves that 50% of Computer South shares, personally held by Iain Grant Fyfe, were transferred to Ibbotson, just days before the Otago DHB suspended their employee Michael Andrew Swann and launched their investigation into his financial activities in early October 2006. The Serious Fraud Office launched its own inquiry shortly afterwards.
Working closely with solicitor Iain Grant Fyfe, Swann squirrelled away millions of dollars over six years into Central Otago properties purchased by trusts set up by Checketts McKay in the names of people – presumably known to and nominated by Swann.
Convicted fraudster Michael Andrew Swann, who is currently serving a lengthy jail term for fraud, together with his convicted accomplice Kerry Gray Harford, defrauded the Otago District Health Board of $16.9 Million over six years (2000-2006).
Swann, ran Computer South Ltd as his personal de facto bank account for the laundering of millions of dollars of ‘dirty money’ obtained by fraud from the DHB, despite the fact he held no office in the company and held no shares. As a convicted bankrupt Swann was unable to hold shares in or direct any company.
As a banned director it was unlawful for him to play any significant role in the management and/or financial affairs of the company. The Otago DHB suspended suspended Michael Andrew Swann in early October 2006 for “gross mismanagement of DHB’s IT procurements including delegation of authority and purchasing policies” then fired him.
For further background reading see:
Swann’s Rolls-Royce lifestyle – the evidence. By Stu Oldham. Fri, 10 Dec 2010
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/140143/swanns-rolls-royce-lifestyle-evidence
Police seek information on Swann assets. Sat, 25 Sep 2010.
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/128160/police-seek-information-swann-assets
Convicted fraudster Michael Andrew Swann, who together with his convicted accomplice Kerry Gray Harford, defrauded the Otago District Health Board of $16.9 Million over six years (2000-2006), ran Computer South Ltd as his personal de facto bank account for the laundering of money obtained by fraud from the DHB, despite the fact he held no office in the company and held no shares. (As a convicted bankrupt he was unable to hold shares in or direct any company).
Mr Swann’s close friend Peter Bruce Bruce Ibbotson, a plumber of Warrington, was put in place as director when the company was incorporated in 1997. In the Dunedin High Court where Swann faced charges for fraud, Ibbotson admitted that he had had almost no involvement (2000-2006) in any management of governance aspect of Computer South Ltd, a company which the Serious Fraud Office reported owned no assets, employed no staff, filed no tax returns, and was controlled by Swann rather than listed “director” Peter Ibbotson.
A Notice of intention to remove Computer South Ltd from the Register of Companies under section 318(1)(b) of the Companies Act 1993, was issued by Mr Neville Harris, the Registrar, on 25 November 2010. [Read more…]
The owner of a $2 million lifestyle block seized by police under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act, has left the country before detectives could press charges against him. He is the sole director and shareholder of an Auckland company and he and his finance manager have been jointly charged with laundering $1.9 million in the past year. The charges laid against them were the second phase in Operation Acacia, a joint operation between the newly formed police Organised and Financial Crime Agency (OFCANZ) and the Auckland metro crime squad.
For full story see http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10660608
The charges recently laid by the Companies Office against Lu Zhang for her alleged offences against s. 373 of the Companies Office Act 1993 – signals a new era of reform: a war against the abuse of the Companies Office register by unscrupulous company directors. By providing false residential and/or registered office addresses they seek to avoid full accountability to enforcement agencies, evade authorities and hide financial matters. Full credit to reporter Michael Field of Fairfax Media who broke the story about multiple shell companies operating out of an Auckland Queen Street building and their alleged links to illegal arms trafficking involving North Korea.
Criminal activities linked to prostitution and human trafficking, the international porn trade, drug and weapons trafficking, have all been linked to money laundering of the proceeds of crime.