May Wang pays back $62,000 - IRD still wants her bankrupt

May Wang leaves Auckland High Court last week. Photo / Greg Bowker

Crafar farm deal fronter May Wang has paid $62,000 in GST owed on the $500,000 advanced by UBNZ for her creditors' proposal after years of tax avoidance, a court heard today.

Inland Revenue has continued its fight to bankrupt May Wang over a $1.3 million debt.

Wang owes her creditors million of dollars from the fall of her property development company the Dynasty Group.

She has proposed to pay these creditors, which include Westpac bank, 6.5c in the dollar.

But IRD lawyer Nick Malarao said Wang had not disclosed all her assets to her creditors, including four companies in the British Virgin Islands, offshore trusts and offshore bank accounts.

One such company, 'Super Worth' has a bank account in Hong Kong and it was through this company that $850,000 was transferred to Wang for her proposal.

Wang told the court last week that "about five friends and associated" had loaned her the $850,000.

These mystery backers were disclosed in closed court - the names have not been released publicly.

Wang is listed as the director of Super Worth.

Natural Dairy, the Hong Kong-listed company the UBNZ group is buying the 16 Crafar farms for, has shares in Super Worth.

Malarao said this was a case of an "insolvent dining at a rich man's table, while creditors' receive the crumbs".

If High Court judge Hannah Sargisson accepts Wang's proposal, she will not be bankrupted and will be able to continue usual business activity.

But Malarao said this would not be in the public's best interest and that Wang's affairs should be handed over to the Official Assignee to protect the community from future commercial failures under her watch.

"Every single enterprise Wang has been involved in has been a failure. Every single year these enterprises have failed. They [the companies] have not filed tax returns. Therefore, [we are to assume] they have not made any money," Malarao said.

"There is a real risk that compliant taxpayers will suffer loses at the hands of May Wang."

Malarao said Wang had a strong history of tax avoidance, and that the pattern of the past was repeating itself.

UBNZ Asset Holdings have not filed GST returns, despite the fact it is earning income through milk production from four Crafar farms bought earlier this year, and have filed GST refunds for $24 million.

The UBNZ group has advanced $500,000 in future earnings to Wang for the proposal, as well as the $850,000, $1.35 million is available to creditors.

The case continues.