Huka Lodge owner faces scrutiny of finances

Alex van Heeren is embroiled in a legal stoush over assets said to be worth at least US$47.5 million - including Huka Lodge. Illustration / Rod Emmerson

Former honorary consul may have to answer a court’s questions about assets at the centre of a 19-year legal battle.

Will a former honorary consul for the Netherlands, ex-member of the New Zealand Eminent Persons Group for International Trade, and owner of the luxurious Huka Lodge be forced to come to court and answer questions about his finances?

Possibly so - Johannesburg-based Michael Kidd has signalled that he may indeed call for Alex van Heeren to appear in the High Court and be examined.

The potential manoeuvre by the South African steel trader would be another twist in his 19-year-long fight with van Heeren over the breakup of their business partnership.

Kidd claimed he got less than US$5 million when they severed ties in 1991, while van Heeren allegedly held on to assets worth at least US$47.5 million - including Huka Lodge, Dolphin Island retreat in Fiji and 32kg of gold.

The marathon stoush, which was parked in this country while litigation crawled through a Johannesburg court, fell in Kidd's favour this year when a New Zealand judge ordered van Heeren to pay $US25 million to his former business partner.

As well as this "interim payment", the judge ordered van Heeren to provide a complete list of all of the partnership's assets and their value.

Van Heeren is appealing against that decision and went back to court to try to defer the interim payment, claiming his financial position meant he was unable to comply with the order.

The former Tranz Rail director's personal bank accounts had about $US700,000 to $US800,000 left, the court heard.

"There has been no explanation as to how he will maintain a standard of living and meet liabilities after these funds are exhausted," said Justice John Fogarty, who was hearing the application.

Justice Fogarty dismissed the bid, saying in his decision late last month: "He says it is not possible for him to pay US$25 million. He does not say he is not worth US$25 million. His words are chosen carefully."

The judge also said van Heeren had not fully informed the court as to the whereabouts of partnership wealth - "let alone its value". Asked this week whether Kidd would push for van Heeren's examination, QC Stephen Mills said his client was "considering all of his options".

Locked away

While van Heeren divides his time between Europe, the Pacific and southern Africa, all his assets are said to be held in foundations in the land-locked microstate of Liechtenstein.

An affidavit from the international businessman said those assets were no longer under his personal control.

Justice Fogarty commented that Liechtenstein was among some small jurisdictions with legal systems "encouraging and facilitating the domicile of assets in a way which protects them from being subject of scrutiny and attachment.

"Therefore this court, being informed that a wealthy person has transferred assets to a trust or a foundation does not draw the inference that the wealthy person is giving his property away but, rather, the opposite: that he is seeking protection from any attachment of it," said the judge.

Deep freeze

May Wang was arrested in Hong Kong on charges of conspiracy to defraud. Photo / Natalie Slade

Freezing orders over millions of dollars worth of New Zealand-based assets linked to failed Crafar farms bidders May Wang and Jack Chen have been extended ahead of their Hong Kong trial.

The pair are facing charges of conspiracy to defraud, after allegedly inducing Hong-Kong listed firm Natural Dairy to acquire 22 North Island dairy farms from one of Wang's companies.

Although the Crafar farms were allegedly on the brink of bankruptcy, Wang is accused of falsifying their accounts so they appeared to be in substantial profit.

Chen and Wang are also accused of failing to declare they had an agreement to share the commission arising from the sale and purchase of the farms.

Unaware of this relationship, and ignorant of the true state of the farms' finances, prosecutors say Natural Dairy approved the acquisition and in 2010 raised HK$955 million ($186 million) to finance it.

Wang and Chen were arrested in Hong Kong before the farm deal was refused by the Overseas Investment Office.

At the request of Hong Kong authorities, freezing orders were slapped on local assets linked to the pair in 2013.

These originally included four multimillion-dollar properties, four North Island farms, shares, bank accounts and a BMW X5 registered in Chen's name.

With the wheels of justice turning so slowly, those orders had to be extended this month.

Chen and Wang's trial is expected to begin next month.

CFO falls for scam

Which New Zealand chief financial officer was fooled by a spoof email attack more complex than your garden-variety online scam?

At least one of the country's financial controllers had the wool pulled over his or her eyes in the scam, which the Department of Internal Affairs warned businesses about this week.

The so-called "whaling" scam uses spoof emails to a chief financial officer or accountant that appear to be from their boss urgently requesting a funds transfer.

The DIA is aware of 10 companies which were targeted by the "whaling" scam this month, with the amounts sought ranging from $24,500 to $89,400.

"In most of the reported cases the CFO or accountant has become suspicious before the funds were actually transferred," said the DIA.

In one case, however, the CFO diligently followed what they thought were their boss' orders and transferred the money as requested by the scammers.

The company, however, soon realised it had been duped and managed to reverse the transaction with the bank - saving the funds but, presumably, not the CFO's embarrassment.