Jailed man made director

A corrupt former assistant commissioner of taxes in Australia has become a director of two New Zealand companies while in jail across the Tasman.

A criminal conviction in Australia which prevents someone becoming a director there is supposed to carry the same penalty on this side of the Tasman, according to the New Zealand Companies Office.

Nikytas Petroulias - listed on the Companies Office registry as "Nick Petroulias" - moved to New Zealand after a short but spectacular career as head of the Australian Tax Office's intelligence unit, which ended in April 1999.

He was charged with bribery and tax fraud in 2000 and fought a series of court battles while acting as a tax adviser on both sides of the Tasman. His business ventures included an international merchant bank, a litigation funding vehicle and a plan to turn Nauru into an offshore financial centre.

Raids were carried out on both sides of the Tasman in November 2006 at premises associated with Petroulias, including accountants' and lawyers' premises in Auckland and Mt Maunganui, a home in Browns Bay and the Motueka River Lodge, where Petroulias was living near his parents.

Petroulias was convicted in December 2007 of two offences - agreeing to receive money and publishing documents without authorisation. A judge said he acted with "impropriety and deceit" and between 1997 and 1999 accepted A$41,000 in return for providing confidential tax office information.

In June Petroulias was sentenced in the New South Wales Supreme Court to a total of three years and two months in prison, with a non-parole period of two years.

But he has also become a director of two local companies in the past four months. Companies Office documents show he signed on as a director of one New Zealand company in December and another in January.

Wayne Levick of Mt Eden registered him on December 11 as a director of Alyssa Treasury Services Ltd, saying the appointment had been made on November 30, 2009.

The register showed Petroulias owned all the shares in the company and listed Melbourne addresses for both Petroulias and Levick. Its registered office is in King Edward St, near Eden Park.

The records also show that Petroulias was appointed as a director of Pre-Paid Professional Administration Ltd - another company in which he owns all the shares - on January 27, and the directorship was registered on the same day by Kev Christensen. The company's registered office was at Buddle Findlay lawyers in Auckland.

A Companies Office spokeswoman says its national enforcement unit is investigating whether Petroulias is disqualified from holding the position.

When the office was alerted to a New Zealand company having a director who had been convicted of dishonesty in the past five years, the individual was contacted and requested to revoke their directorship, she said.

In December Australia changed its laws so New Zealand company directors banned from running businesses on this side of the Tasman are automatically disqualified in Australia. It was worried about people avoiding disqualification by switching between the two countries.

- NZPA