Internal Affairs scrambled to restore Auckland money remitter Qian DuoDuo Ltd to the Companies Office register after the company quietly disappeared in the middle of a criminal prosecution charged with breaches of money laundering legislation.
Owned by husband and wife Zenhua Qian and Ye Hua, Qian DuoDuo Ltd has been under investigation since 2015 for alleged breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Act. The two shareholders and their company came under suspicion following failures to report a significant number of transactions totalling close to $100 million.
Their business traded under the name Lidong Foreign Exchange.
In 2018, Qian DuoDuo Ltd was ordered to pay a civil penalty of $356,000 for breaching the Act. An Internal Affairs criminal prosecution is underway.
The High Court was told the company was struck of the companies register in August 2022 after it failed to provide Companies Office with detailed documents requested. Internal Affairs realised two working days after the Companies Act striking-off notice period expired that Qian DuoDuo was disappearing. It was too late; Companies Office refused to reinstate the company.
In the High Court, Associate judge Taylor ordered reinstatement over objections from Qian DuoDuo’s shareholders. They said it was pointless continuing a criminal prosecution against their company. It cannot be sent to jail. It cannot pay a fine; it had no money when struck off, they claim.
Reinstatement enables Internal Affairs to put the company into liquidation if it does not pay any fines imposed and then have a liquidator investigate what happened to company assets.
The High Court was told both Mr Qian and Ms Hua also each face criminal prosecutions for breaches of the Act.
re Qian DuoDuo Ltd – High Court (23.03.23)
23.035