Hotchin's assets frozen

The High Court has ordered that the NZ assets of former Hanover Finance co-boss Mark Hotchin be frozen - including his nearly-completed upmarket mansion in Auckland and a large property on Waiheke Island, so that they are available to meet civil claims that investors might bring against Hotchin. The order came after a closed High Court hearing yesterday morning before Chief Judge Helen Winkelmann, involving the Securities Commission and Hotchin's lawyer, Bruce Stewart QC.

It is the first time the commission has sought such orders since they were introduced into the Securities Act in October 2006.  Commission director of investigations and litigation, Sue Brown, said she was aware of some investors who have sought legal advice about potentially taking action. Such claims would relate to people who invested in Hanover Finance, Hanover Capital and United Finance on the basis of any disclosure documents that are proved to contain lies.

Yesterday's court orders were made only against Hotchin and unfortunately don't apply to Eric Watson, who may not have anything left behind in NZ anyway. Both Hotchin and Watson now live overseas.

A hearing on Hotchin's application to have the orders on his ill-gotten gains overturned is expected in February.


The Serious Fraud Office is doing a separate investigation to determine whether the Crimes Act has been breached. See our previous posts about Watson and Hotchin.