Over
four years, Wellington Maori have seen the value of their Port Nicholson Treaty
settlement assets drop by two-thirds to $11 million. Port Nicholson trustees are now in pursuit of
$731,000 apparently lost in a property deal with Anthony Gapes’ Redwood group.
The High Court was asked to remove
Auckland liquidator John Gilbert from one of Gapes’ companies following
allegations that Mr Gilbert was installed as a patsy liquidator tasked to not
look too hard at company transactions.
Victoria Street West Ltd went into
liquidation in 2015, with Mr Gapes as shareholder appointing Mr Gilbert as
liquidator. The liquidator’s initial
report lists the company’s only asset of value as a bank account holding
$34,200 with secured creditors owed some $26,400 and unsecured creditors owed
$1.4 million. Port Nicholson trustees
cried foul. They were not listed as an unsecured creditor despite claiming
$731,000 was due. This $731,000 debt is
listed in the Trust’s most recent annual report as “impaired”. Evidence was
given that the Trust paid a deposit of $750,000 in 2010, agreeing to buy a
property at 83 Waterloo Quay, Wellington.
The Trust subsequently transferred its interest in this agreement to
Victoria Street West, but the company failed to fully reimburse the Trust its
$750,000 as promised.
At a creditors’ meeting in May 2015, Mr
Gilbert was confirmed as liquidator of Victoria Street West. The Trust was the only creditor to vote
against his appointment. Included in the
majority voting in favour were three entities under the control of Mr Gapes
between them claiming $1.19 million.
Associate judge Bell ordered that a further
creditors’ meeting be held to vote again on the question of a liquidator. The $1.19 million in related party votes are
not to be voted. The judge instructed
that all creditors are to receive a copy of his judgment along with notice of
the meeting and they were to be specificially advised of the multiple name-changes
Victoria Street West has undertaken.
Victoria Street West was previously known as Redwood Group Ltd. The court was told Mr Gapes appears to have
transferred the name Redwood Group on to a different company leaving the former
Redwood Group assetless under the new name of Victoria Street West. Mr Gapes Redwood group development at Spring
Park in Mt Wellington, Auckland, is in receivership.
Victoria
St West Ltd v. Baker – High Court (18.12.15)
16.025