“I’ve received half of or just under which was about $20,000 or so.
“That all went through no problem at all.”
An email he received from KPMG in November said they were ready to pay the second distribution and if he did not receive it in the next 14 business days to let them know.
“I was checking my bank account daily waiting for it. I was also - because I thought it was coming I was financially planning for this to pay off some debt and get my financial situation sorted out.”
When the money didn’t arrive by January the investor contacted KPMG. He was told ANZ customers were having issues because the bank had changed the way international transfers went through and that the money had bounced back into a New Zealand intermediary account and they were going to trace the money back.
He resubmitted his account details and additional information but two months later he has yet to see any money.
“That was in January and I have been following up emailing them every week since and all I am getting are these very non-personal responses back saying they are continuing to trace it.”
The man said he had asked to speak to someone to explain the situation and had also contacted ANZ. “They said a trace should take seven working days. At the moment I don’t know where this money is.”
The investor said he imagined given ANZ was the largest bank that others would be impacted too.
The investor said he was frustrated on two levels. “Obviously the money is not in so I can’t pay my debts that I thought I would be able to. But the lack of communication has been awful from KPMG they won’t give me a phone number, there is no personal response in any of my emails. My last email 14 days ago has not been responded to.”
He said he was expecting around another $20k to be paid into his account.
The Herald understands around 25 to 30 New Zealand investors have been caught up in the issue. Liquidators KPMG were waiting for the money to come back to them before it could be paid out to the investors.
The timing is entirely dependent on how soon the bank returns the money to the liquidator which could take weeks or sometimes months due to it being an international money transfer.
But the Herald understands the money was due to be paid out to the man yesterday.
Companies Office filings show the liquidator in charge changed in December with Morgan Kelly resigning and Peter Gothard, who also works for KPMG taking over.
The most recent six-monthly update on the liquidation in November showed the liquidators had distributed A$81.2 million to 4088 investors so far. A further 344 investors had had their claims verified and were due to be paid in the next batch and 296 investors were awaiting verification. A total of A$181.2m in claims had been received.
On top of that, 3427 claims with a combined value of A$14.6m were unclaimed.
“We currently estimate that a second distribution will be paid towards the end of 2022. The timing of subsequent distributions is subject to a range of factors which impact the calculation of distributions payable to Investors, including; the finalisation of total investor claims; resolution of a small number of investor disputes; and, realisation of residual open positions remaining within the Halifax Portfolio.”
It had also distributed A$27.6m in shares with the majority of share transfers now complete.
The liquidators have incurred a total of more than A$3m in fees since taking over the business in March 2019. So far KPMG has been paid A$2.277m. A further A$302,612 had been approved but not paid while another A$440,000 had been incurred by not approved or paid.
Legal action
The report also noted the liquidators were investigating the conduct of the company’s director, former directors and third-party advisers to determine if there were any other potential recoveries available.
“The Liquidators have identified a number of claims against former lawyers and auditors who provided professional services to Halifax AU. The claims arise out of services provided to Halifax AU before the Liquidators’ appointment which the Liquidators consider caused loss to the Halifax Group.
“The Liquidators have sought funding to pursue claims against Halifax AU’s former auditors and former solicitors. They have executed a funding agreement with a litigation funder to fund Halifax AU’s proceedings to pursue those claims.”
A statement of claim was filed with the Federal Court of Australia on September 5, 2022. If the court action is successful they said there could be recoveries which contribute to the pool of funds for investors and are available for distribution.
