Case Notes
Not all current investigations or prosecutions are covered by these Case Notes. Cases may be excluded for a variety of reasons including:
- Name suppression may have been ordered by the Court;
- The investigation may be confidential to assist with preservation of evidence or cooperation from possible witnesses;
- A matter may be the subject of a joint investigation with other domestic or international law enforcement agencies who have requested confidentiality.
We are also bound by the Crown Law Office “Media Protocol for Prosecutors” that recommends that the name of a person charged should not be released until they have appeared in Court (and have had an opportunity to apply for name suppression).
If you are personally involved in a case and it does not appear in this section, please contact the Case Manager or email enquiries@sfo.govt.nz.
B’On Financial Services Limited : 1804
B’On Financial Services Limited (B’On) was placed into voluntary receivership on 22 December 2009 owing approximately $29 million to approximately 86 investors.
Read the full caseBelgrave Finance Limited : 11-02
Belgrave Finance Limited traded as a finance company offering property loans and accepting deposits from the public. The Company was placed into receivership on 28 May 2008 owing approximately 1000 public investors approximately $20 million. The receivers anticipate a recovery of around 21c in the dollar. Losses to the public are anticipated to be in excess of $15 million.
Read the full caseBridgecorp Limited : 1723
Bridgecorp Limited was placed into receivership on 02 July 2007 owing approximately 14,500 debenture holders approximately $459 million.
Read the full caseCapital+Merchant Finance Limited (No 2) : 11-16
Capital+Merchant Finance Limited traded as a finance company offering property and investment loans, and accepting deposits from the public. After considering additional matters that came to light in conjunction with the investigation of the Hub Transaction, the Director determined that there were reasonable grounds to believe further offences involving serious or complex fraud may have been committed. A new investigation file was opened to enable further investigations under part II of the Serious Fraud Office Act to continue.
Read the full caseCapital+Merchant Finance Limited : 1802
Capital+Merchant Finance Limited traded as a finance company offering property and investment loans, and accepting deposits from the public. It was placed into receivership on 23 November 2007 owing approximately 7,500 investors around $167 million. The receivers representing the public investors do not expect any recovery as the assets of the company will be applied to meet the claims of the prior security holder.
Read the full caseDataSouth Finance Limited and others : 11-25
After considering complaints received, the Director determined that there were reasonable grounds to believe that an offence involving serious or complex fraud may have been committed.
Read the full caseDominion Finance : 11-13
Dominion Finance Group Limited (DFG) and North South Finance Limited (NFS) were the operating subsidiaries of NZX listed Dominion Finance Holdings Limited (DFH). After considering a referral received from the Securities Commission, the Director determined that an investigation into the affairs of Dominion Finance may disclose serious or complex fraud. An investigation under part II of the Serious Fraud Office Act was commenced on 28 October 2010.
Read the full caseFive Star Group : 1712
Five Star Consumer Finance Limited traded as a finance company accepting deposits from the public and investing those deposits in consumer and commercial lending. Marcus Macdonald, Nicholas Kirk and Anthony Bowden were directors of the company. Neill Williams was not appointed as a director of the company but was allegedly involved in the management of the company. Five Star was placed into receivership on 29 August 2007 owing investors approximately $46 million.
Read the full caseGrant Herbert and others : 11-24
After considering complaints received relating to an alleged shortfall in the Insurance broking client account of Herbert Insurance Group Limited, the Director determined that there were reasonable grounds to believe that an offence involving serious or complex fraud may have been committed.
Read the full caseHanover Finance Ltd : 11-08
On 23 July 2008 Hanover Finance Ltd and United Finance Limited announced that they would be unable to meet their obligations to depositors, and were proposing to put a debt rescheduling proposal to depositors. An investigation under part I of the Serious Fraud Office Act was commenced on 7th September 2010.
Read the full caseLane Walker Rudkin Group : 1789
Lane Walker Rudkin Industries Limited and associated entities (LWR Group) were placed into receivership on 28 April 2009 owing approximately $120 million, the majority of which is owed to Westpac New Zealand Ltd.
Read the full caseLoizos Michaels : 1727
The complaint to the SFO alleged that Mr Michaels falsely represented that he was a senior operator in the international casino industry, establishing a NZ based business. Consequently, he allegedly induced a number of people to invest in the business to the value of $1.1 million.
Read the full caseMalcolm Duncan Mayer : 1735
After assessing a complaint in relation to an alleged mortgage fraud, the Director started an investigation into Mr Malcolm Mayer under part II of the Serious Fraud Office Act on 28 July 2008.
Read the full caseNational Finance 2000 Ltd : 1616
National Finance 2000 Limited, traded as a finance company, accepting deposits from the public and investing those deposits mainly in motor vehicle loans, through motor vehichle dealers including the related Payless Cars group of companies. Trevor Alan Ludlow was the sole shareholder and a director of the company. John Gray was employed by the company as an accountant. National Finance was placed into receivership on 09 May 2006 owing investors approximately $21 million.
Read the full caseNatural Dairy Land Transactions : 11-09
In September 2009 Natural Dairy (NZ) Holdings Limited (Natural Dairy), a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, made an announcement giving details of its plan to purchase the New Zealand farm assets of the Crafar family. After consulting with, and receiving information from, other agencies, the Director suspected that an investigation into the Natural Dairy land transactions may disclose evidence of serious or complex fraud. An investigation under part I of the Serious Fraud Office Act was commenced on 23 September 2010.
Read the full caseRockforte Finance Limited : 11-17
Rockforte Finance Limited issued debt securities to the public and used the proceeds to make loans secured mainly over imported second hand motor vehicles. After considering information obtained by SFO from the receiver of the company, the Director determined that there were reasonable grounds to believe that an offence involving serious or complex fraud may have been committed. An investigation under part II of the Serious Fraud Office Act was commenced on 6 December 2010.
Read the full caseSouth Canterbury Finance : 11-12
South Canterbury Finance Limited (SCF) was placed into receivership on 31 August 2010 owing approximately $1.8 billion. As the company participated in the crown retail deposit guarantee scheme, any eventual loss will be borne by the crown.
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