Wang wins court case over $475k

May Wang. Photo / Natalie Slade

Concern has been raised about a company trying to bankrupt May Wang over the sale and purchase of two Crafar farms this year.

Latitude Asia, a British Virgin Islands registered company, is run by brothers Trent and Cameron Fraser but their father Barry Fraser is involved in the company and signed documents between UBNZ and Latitude Asia as its director.

Fraser is bankrupt (in New Zealand), which prohibits him from acting as a director of a company.

On Friday, High Court judge Roger Bell dismissed Latitude Asia's statutory demand of $475,000 it claims UBNZ owes it for services rendered.

Wang said in her affidavit that Fraser "provided some assistance" to UBNZ by introducing the company to potential investors during mid-2008 to mid-2009, and also provided general assistance to UBNZ during negotiations.

Justice Bell said he was concerned Latitude Asia was a front that allowed Fraser to continue business operations while he was bankrupt.

A copy of Bell's judgment has been sent to the Registrar of Companies.

Fraser claims UBNZ owes Latitude Asia $270,000 from the sale of Nugen Farms, in liquidation (formerly directed by Robert Crafar) and $150,000 from the sale of Windburn View (formerly directed by Robert and Glen Crafar).

The claim is for 1 per cent of the sale and purchase of each of the farms, which Fraser claims Wang promised him.

Although Wang does not dispute that Latitude Asia is owed money, she strongly denies it is owed 1 per cent of the sale (and future sales) of the farms.

Those amounts, including GST, total about $475,000. Nugen Farms was sold for $27 million, while Windburn was sold for $15 million.

The sale and purchase of these farms is being investigated by the Overseas Investment Office and the Serious Fraud Office - which is also investigating the proposed sale and purchase agreements of about a dozen more farms between the UBNZ group and Natural Dairy.

Natural Dairy is planning to buy about 12 Crafar farms; UBNZ has already bought four this year.

Bell said in his judgment the "legality" of Fraser's actions were open to question, which carried with it a further question of whether the $475,000 debt was recoverable by Latitude Asia.

"There are other aspects of the case that give concern. The first is that Latitude Asia has appeared in the Bankruptcy Court on Wang's proposal under Part 5 of the Insolvency Act. It is claiming to be a creditor for the same sum of $475,000 plus a contingent liability for a greater sum [$2 million].

"If Latitude Asia has a claim against UBNZ Funds Management, it is not clear how at the same time it could also have a claim against May Wang in person. There is nothing in the evidence before the court to suggest that there was any joint liability.

"If Latitude Asia at the same time is making the same demands against different people, that would suggest that both claims cannot be right and at the most only one could be right."

Bell said the fact that two inconsistent demands were being made cast doubt on the claim in this case.

Today, a two-day hearing is expected to begin to discuss whether Wang's proposal to pay her creditors out 6.5c in the dollar to avert bankruptcy will be acceptable to creditors including Inland Revenue.