Court appoints Forestlands liquidator

NELSON: The High Court at Nelson has appointed KordaMentha’s Neale Jackson and Grant Graham to liquidate Forestlands companies 212 and 1420.

The Financial Markets Authority sought the court order to bring independence and certainty to the resolution of the companies’ affairs, it said in a release.

The FMA launched a probe last year when it received several complaints by Forestlands investors about the group. The regulator sought to restrain $18 million set to be paid to investors, parking it in an interestbearing trust account until the investigation was completed. The FMA is also investigating the group’s failure to file financial statements and has referred some matters to the Serious Fraud Office.

The regulator noted yesterday its investigation into Forestlands director Rowan Kearns was still ongoing. An SFO investigation into Forestlands NZ Ltd was also open.

KordaMentha was previously tasked by the company’s director with developing a way to distribute the proceeds of forestry sales to shareholders, according to the FMA. This meant KordaMen tha had to satisfy the court the proposed liquidators were sufficiently independent for the order to proceed.

In its application, KordaMentha said the previous services did not compromise its independence or ability to carry out the role and the proposed liquidators had extensive knowledge of the affairs of the Forestlands entities.

Another company in the group, Forestlands NZ Ltd, was placed in liquidation earlier this week.

KordaMentha’s Jackson and Graham are also the liquidators of Forestlands NZ. — BusinessDesk