Article published: 7:00 PM Friday May 29, 2009
Hong Kong Court Rescinds Freeze of 'Runaway Millionaire' Funds
A Hong Kong court rescinded two orders freezing the funds of a fugitive New Zealand gas-station operator mistakenly granted a NZ$10 million ($6.3 million) overdraft facility by Westpac Banking Corp., including a deposit with Wynn Resorts Ltd.
Leo Gao’s gas station was given the larger facility instead of a NZ$10,000 overdraft and he transferred NZ$6.73 million to accounts in China and Hong Kong including with Wynn International Marketing Ltd., which runs a casino in Macau, Deputy High Court Judge Ian Carlson said in a May 25 ruling.
Westpac New Zealand Ltd. had won freezing orders in a New Zealand court against Gao, his brother and mother, the gas station, and Wynn, Carlson said. The Hong Kong court ordered a freeze under a reciprocal agreement, and “regrettably,” Wynn’s Hong Kong bank Dah Sing Banking Group Ltd. suspended the company’s entire account, rather than the specific amount of HK$3.71 million, he said.
This caused Wynn “considerable losses and damaged its reputation,” Carlson said in his ruling, which discharged two freezing orders on a procedural basis. Wynn International is a unit of the casino company founded by Stephen Wynn.
“Wynn will be looking to recover its costs of successfully discharging the earlier orders made by Deputy Judge Carlson,” said Nicholas Hunsworth, a lawyer from Hong Kong firm JSM representing Wynn International.
Westpac’s Lawyers
Damien Laracy, of Westpac’s Hong Kong lawyers Laracy Gall, declined to comment. Craig Dowling, an Auckland-based spokesman at Westpac, didn’t reply to voice mails left on his mobile after normal office hours seeking comment.
Derek Wong, managing director of Dah Sing Bank, wasn’t immediately available for comment.
The station run by Gao, dubbed the “runaway millionaire” by New Zealand media, has been shut down and he, his brother and mother have fled New Zealand and are being sought by a number of police forces, according to the Hong Kong ruling.
New Zealand police are preparing a mutual assistance request to the Chinese government, the New Zealand Herald reported May 27.
Judge Carlson said in his ruling that the court’s erroneous orders were identified and rectified within 48 hours. Instead of a freezing of the funds under the reciprocity rule, Westpac should have sought a domestic injunction embracing both Wynn and the bank “where the ill-gotten funds lie.”
The case is between Westpac New Zealand Ltd. and Gao Hui (also known as Leo Gao), Heights Service Ltd., Zhang Huan Di, Gao Lei, Wynn International Marketing Ltd., HC 27/2009, Hong Kong Court of First Instance.
Source: Bloomberg
Leo Gao’s gas station was given the larger facility instead of a NZ$10,000 overdraft and he transferred NZ$6.73 million to accounts in China and Hong Kong including with Wynn International Marketing Ltd., which runs a casino in Macau, Deputy High Court Judge Ian Carlson said in a May 25 ruling.
Westpac New Zealand Ltd. had won freezing orders in a New Zealand court against Gao, his brother and mother, the gas station, and Wynn, Carlson said. The Hong Kong court ordered a freeze under a reciprocal agreement, and “regrettably,” Wynn’s Hong Kong bank Dah Sing Banking Group Ltd. suspended the company’s entire account, rather than the specific amount of HK$3.71 million, he said.
This caused Wynn “considerable losses and damaged its reputation,” Carlson said in his ruling, which discharged two freezing orders on a procedural basis. Wynn International is a unit of the casino company founded by Stephen Wynn.
“Wynn will be looking to recover its costs of successfully discharging the earlier orders made by Deputy Judge Carlson,” said Nicholas Hunsworth, a lawyer from Hong Kong firm JSM representing Wynn International.
Westpac’s Lawyers
Damien Laracy, of Westpac’s Hong Kong lawyers Laracy Gall, declined to comment. Craig Dowling, an Auckland-based spokesman at Westpac, didn’t reply to voice mails left on his mobile after normal office hours seeking comment.
Derek Wong, managing director of Dah Sing Bank, wasn’t immediately available for comment.
The station run by Gao, dubbed the “runaway millionaire” by New Zealand media, has been shut down and he, his brother and mother have fled New Zealand and are being sought by a number of police forces, according to the Hong Kong ruling.
New Zealand police are preparing a mutual assistance request to the Chinese government, the New Zealand Herald reported May 27.
Judge Carlson said in his ruling that the court’s erroneous orders were identified and rectified within 48 hours. Instead of a freezing of the funds under the reciprocity rule, Westpac should have sought a domestic injunction embracing both Wynn and the bank “where the ill-gotten funds lie.”
The case is between Westpac New Zealand Ltd. and Gao Hui (also known as Leo Gao), Heights Service Ltd., Zhang Huan Di, Gao Lei, Wynn International Marketing Ltd., HC 27/2009, Hong Kong Court of First Instance.
Source: Bloomberg
By Chia-Peck Wong
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