Du Val’s Kenyon Clarke hits out FMA, PwC and says daughter ‘hasn’t slept for three months’

Kenyon Clarke, founder of insolvent Auckland property business Du Val, says one of his daughters has been unable to sleep for three months after the raid on the family’s Remuera home.

Writing in a now-deleted Instagram post, Clarke complained about the effect after police and Financial Markets Authority action in August.

“My daughter woke up to find an armed cop outside her bedroom door. She still can’t sleep three months later because of the trauma of that day,” Clarke wrote in an Instagram post last night.

His post ended with a picture of last night’s Coldplay concert at Eden Park.

John Fisk, who was one of the receivers of Du Val entities, estimated in late August the businesses owed about $250 million and expressed serious concern about irregular accounting entries that created assets that may not be legitimate.

Cabinet-appointed statutory managers and receivers PwC said in September businesses in the failed Auckland-headquartered townhouse/apartment developer owed an estimated $237.6 million.

In a summary of estimated external obligations by the businesses headed by Charlotte and Kenyon Clarke as at August 31, PwC today detailed:

• First-ranking secured creditors owed $170.7m;
• Investors owed $41.2m;
• Unsecured creditors owed $18m;
• Preferential creditors owed $7.5m, including employees and Inland Revenue.

That takes total estimated external obligations to $236,607,000, according to the summary.

Kenyon and Charlotte Clarke of Du Val.

Clarke said the home raid was traumatic for his family.

“On August 2, the FMA raided our home. They tipped off the legacy media and turned up with photographers, armed police and a battering ram to collect a couple of iPhones, laptops and our children’s iPads,” Clarke wrote.

However, a journalist told the Herald it was neighbours - not the authorities - who alerted the media to the raid.

Clarke promised a “biblical” response to action against him.

“It would be funny if it wasn’t for the lives the FMA and PwC have destroyed through bad faith, negligence and utter incompetence,” he wrote.

Clarke also contrasted Du Val’s statutory management with the South Canterbury Finance case.

“The last time there was a statutory management in this country it was a billion dollar bonfire,” he said referring to the meltdown of the business once headed by the late Allan Hubbard.

“Well here’s the thing, I’m not an 83-year-old accountant. I’m not going anywhere.

Kenyon Clarke's post on Instagram. Photo / via Instagram

Writing in a now-deleted Instagram post, Clarke complained about the effect on Du Val after police and Financial Markets Authority action in August. Photo / via Instagram

Kenyon Clarke's post on Instagram of the Coldplay concert. Photo / via Instagram

“This is my home and while I may be under a gag order not to speak about any questionable FMA investigation, I can say this, get on and charge me! I can’t wait to see you in court and expose every grubby little deal, every grubby witness and the trial by media in the absence of any evidence. Let’s go!”

He accused the FMA and PwC of being “a partnership of the incompetent and mediocre” who he said had “run DUVAL into the ground costing shareholders hundreds of millions of dollars. DUVAL had c. $16m cash in its solicitors and corporate bank account and now the company liability has been pillaged by PwC for fees,” Clarke wrote.

The FMA is being approached for comment. On August 21, the authority confirmed several entities within the Du Val group would be placed in statutory management.

Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 24 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.