Andrew Krukziener's High Court bankruptcy battle has been cut short after a surprise move by the property developer over the weekend. But he is not out of the woods yet.Mr Krukziener, $45 million in debt, has withdrawn his application for High Court appr
Andrew Krukziener’s High Court bankruptcy battle has been cut short after a surprise move by the property developer over the weekend. But he is not out of the woods yet.
Mr Krukziener, $45 million in debt, has withdrawn his application for High Court approval of his $350,000 creditor repayment plan.
The hearing, which began on Thursday, was due to continue today for conclusion tomorrow.
The IRD, which claimed it was owed $6.67 million by Krukziener, opposed the proposal and wanted to press ahead to have him declared bankrupt.
Mr Krukziener, 45, this morning confirmed to the National Business Review a deal had been struck over the weekend, the details of which were being finalised by his lawyers this morning.
Until then, he could not comment further, but acknowledged the smile on his face.
“Calling it a settlement is going a bit too far,” he said.
IRD lawyer Nick Whittington confirmed to the NBR that Mr Krukziener's creditors' proposal had been withdrawn and said the bankruptcy case would be revisited in court on December 16.
If declared bankrupt, Mr Krukziener would not be allowed to own or direct another company, and would see his earnings capped at $40,000 as an employee.
His lawyer, Bruce Stewart, QC, last week told the court it was in the interest of creditors and the Auckland business community that Mr Krukziener continued in business.
Mr Stewart said 70% of Mr Krukziener’s creditors had accepted the proposal, offering to pay them 2.7 cents in the dollar.
Mr Krukziener has previously spoken out about Inland Revenue’s opposition to his proposal and claimed the IRD was trying to bankrupt him to stop him fighting a “lifestyle” tax avoidance case.
Inland Revenue has already claimed a win against Mr Krukziener, who, earlier this year lost a High Court appeal against a Taxation Review Authority ruling that $5 million of loans he received between 1991 and 2002 should be assessed as taxable income.
Mr Krukziener is still fighting the decision and is taking the case to the Court of Appeal.
Mr Whittington said it would send the wrong message if the department allowed Mr Krukziener to walk away from the tax obligations.
Mr Krukziener has his name to a number of multi-million-dollar property developments in Auckland.
Development of the Metropolis apartment building had come at $25 million cost, with lasting effects on his trusts and associated companies, he told the court last week.
