Statutory managers release 11th Aorangi statutory report

The statutory managers of Aorangi Securities may now be unable to return almost 100 cents in the dollar to investors. In papers submitted to the High Court, Mrs Hubbard is disputing the beneficial ownership by Aorangi of $60 million of assets, say the statutory managers in their 11th Report just released.

“The Court case to confirm that $60 million of assets belong to Aorangi and not the Hubbard’s, has a provisional hearing date of 29 October 2012 in Timaru. If that date is ultimately unavailable, the hearing will likely be 2013.

The challenge of ownership of the $60 million of assets submitted to the Court, means the possibility of a significant loss to investors rather than closer to 100 cents in the dollar if the $60 million of assets were to be available for distribution to Aorangi investors.

“It is our view that the Hubbards did not dispute the fact that these assets belonged to Aorangi. Our reason for seeking a Court declaration is to confirm that the correct action was being taken.
“The assets in question were transferred to Aorangi by Mr and Mrs Hubbard. They then attempted to transfer those same assets to several trusts. This was unconventional and the legal aspects of the transfer were incomplete in most cases.

“The unwinding of those subsequent transactions back to the Hubbards was a deliberate and considered act because on our analysis the legal processes in the original transactions were ineffective and invalid.

“Sufficient funds are on hand to make a further three cent capital payment to investors on 1 July 2012. This will bring the total repayment to investors to 15 cents in the dollar,” they said.

In addition, the statutory managers report that there is progress recovering other third party loans valued at approximately $39 million.

The full report is available on the Grant Thornton website at www.grantthornton.co.nz. Previous reports are also available on the site.

The statutory managers expect to provide a further report at the end of September 2012.

Further enquiries, please contact:

Michael Dunlop           
Acumen Republic
M +64 (0)275 747 587
D +64 (0)4 494 5142
E mdunlop@acumenrepublic.com

Julian Light           
Acumen Republic
M +64 (0)21 243 8528
D +64 (0)4 494 5146
E jlight@acumenrepublic.com