Crown tries to sell frozen assets of Wang/Chen

In Auckland High Court today, police applied to have those orders registered here because they assist authorities in Hong Kong.

The pair already have New Zealand assets valued at about $22 million, including more than $10 million of property in Auckland's St Heliers, frozen by the Crown under interim restraining orders. 

Those orders expire at midnight tonight.

More residential property in Parnell, Mission Bay, Howick, Flatbush and a farm in Manawatu-Wanganui is also frozen, alongside shares in several companies – including Fonterra, bank accounts and Mr Chen's BMW X5, which are now under management of the Official Assignee.

Police today sought orders directing the Official Assignee to sell the assets to help repay a loan to a third-party creditor, due next month.

Ms Wang and Mr Chen oppose the application, which is being heard before Justice Patricia Courtney.

Neither Ms Wang or Mr Chen appeared in court today. Their Queen's counsel John Billington is presenting arguments about whether the orders can be registered in their current form, and for variations to be made.

Mr Billington said the restraint of the pair's assets here was more extensive than the Hong Kong government had asked for, which was just a restriction of their assets.

The New Zealand government had gone further in seeking the ability to also dispose of the restrained property if convictions were secured, and had not followed correct process in doing so.

Mr Billington also argued four farms near Palmerston North should be exempt from the restraint order because they were owned by UBNZ Asset Management, to which Ms Wang and Mr Chen were not beneficiaries.

Justice Courtney reserved her decision and made an order extending the interim foreign restraining orders until the date of her judgment - expected next month.

Money laundering and fraud charges

Among the charges the pair face in Hong Kong, the ICAC alleges that between May 2009 and March 2010 Ms Wang conspired with Mr Chen, then an executive of Natural Dairy NZ, and other people to offer him two properties in Auckland and $HK73 million as rewards for him to buy her company UBNZ Assets.

Mr Keen's wife, Ye Fang, and Ms Wang's solicitor, Wu Wing Kit, have also been charged by the ICAC for allegedly laundering more than $HK230 million.

At the time of the alleged offences, Natural Dairy (NZ) was listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Mr Wu was acting for Ms Wang.

The charges were laid against them in 2011 after a year-long investigation by the ICAC and New Zealand's Serious Fraud Office, which began investigating when the Overseas Investment Office was assessing Natural Dairy's bid to buy the Crafar farms.

The High Court is required to register the foreign order, under laws providing for mutual assistance  between the two countries in relation to enforcement of criminal codes in each other's jurisdiction.

gbond@nbr.co.nz