Hotel link to runaway-millionaire case

One of the world's most luxurious hotel chains has been named in court action filed by the bank chasing the multimillion-dollar runaways.

Wynn International Marketing Ltd has been named as a defendant in court papers filed by Westpac.

The others are Leo Gao, Heights Service Ltd, Huan Di Zhang and Lei Gao (believed to be Leo Gao's mother).

Wynn International Marketing is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wynn Resorts Ltd, which owns casinos and hotels in Las Vegas and Macau, China.

The Herald on Sunday reported that Aroha Hurring, the sister of Leo Gao's girlfriend Kara Hurring, was in Macau drinking beer and enjoying the heat.

Westpac has confirmed that the hotel company is named as a defendant but declined to elaborate why. The court file has been sealed by Justice Christopher Allan.

Court documents show the bank has seized four properties relating to the BP service station that Leo Gao owned in Rotorua with Zhang, because the bank alleges they owe it $3,782,000.

The combined value of the seized properties - two in Auckland and two in Rotorua - is $1,914,000. Mortgages are owed on all.

Westpac applied to the High Court at Auckland on May 14 for a "charging order", which freezes anything to do with the four properties.

Heights Services is the firm under which Leo Gao and Zhang operated the petrol station.

Aroha Hurring has now returned to New Zealand and told police that her sister was in Hong Kong but that she did not know where Leo Gao was.

Leo Gao and Kara Hurring are being sought in connection with the "inappropriate operation" of a Westpac business account in which $3.8 million is still unaccounted for.

The $10 million was made available by "human error" after Leo Gao applied for an overdraft of $100,000 for the BP station.

Police are continuing to work on the preparation of a mutual assistance request to the Chinese Government.

Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey yesterday repeated his call for Leo Gao and Kara Hurring to return to New Zealand.

"I again urge them to reflect on their options, take the opportunity to come back to New Zealand, and get this matter resolved before all the money is spent," he said.

Chevi Lambert, owner of a neighbouring business to the Rotorua service station, said Leo Gao's one big dream was to make money.

"He talked to me about his dreams and ventures," Ms Lambert told the British newspaper the Times.

"He bought a fish and chip shop next door to the garage and wanted to make it into a Chinese fish and chip shop. But he didn't do anything about it.

"It just sat there empty, and after about six months he sold it for less than he bought it for."

Ms Lambert said that was about the time when the BP service station started going downhill.

"He lost motivation. The pressure of working those long hours left him really stressed.

"At the same time, he and Kara were having a lot of problems. They split up about a month ago but they were trying to work things out."

Leo Gao's disappearance has left one of his employees, Shybu Antony, jobless and $2000 out of pocket.

Mr Antony told Rotorua's Daily Post that he was heartbroken about losing his BP job and very upset about the disappearance of his boss, who had always been good to him.

The father of three, who moved from India four years ago, said he was still owed $2000 in holiday pay and had been too upset to find another job.

"I'm so shocked. They should come back and give the money back ... Westpac made a big blunder but Leo has done a big, big blunder."

Mr Antony, who became a NZ citizen last month with his wife Elizabeth, a nurse, said if he had a chance to speak to Leo Gao, he would tell him he was very foolish.

"I would say, 'Why are you doing this? You spoil your life, you spoil my life'."