Bankrupt builder Li Dong Xie left little online trace of his illegal ventures

Li Dong Xie during his sentencing today in the Auckland District Court. Photo / Doug Sherring

Li Dong Xie, the Auckland builder jailed for breaches of the Insolvency Act, has left little online trace of his illegal ventures which the Crown says deprived hard done-by creditors.

Xie was bankrupted in July 2010 for failing to pay back debts incurred in the course of running his building business, New Town Home Construction Ltd, which last filed a return in September 2014 and has since been deregistered. He was listed as shareholder and director.

Official Assignee Ross van der Schyff said in a statement that Xie "showed a reckless disregard for his obligations as a bankrupt, which had been made clear to him by the Official Assignee."

The Herald cited court documents that showed Xie gambled $20.5 million at SkyCity Casino between December 2010 and August 2015, funds which would have repaid creditors who were seeking retribution.

Xie was arrested at Auckland Airport for offences including running a business for five years while a bankrupt, generating about $1.5m in earnings which he gambled away through slot machines at SkyCity Casino.

He tried to board a flight to China despite having been told he couldn't leave the country without the Official Assignee's consent, according to the government's insolvency website. Xie had pled guilty to 10 charges under the Insolvency Act

The charges included concealing property, gambling, acting as the director of a company without the consent of the OA, obtaining credit, attempting to obtain credit, obtaining property on credit, failing to file a statement of affairs, and attempting to leave New Zealand without the consent of the OA.

The government has allowed closer scrutiny of transactions involving foreign entities while tightening entry criteria. It also recently began a new snapshot of home ownership transfers involving overseas parties.

Last week Stats NZ released figures showing that in the first quarter, just over 3 per cent of home transfers were to people who didn't hold New Zealand citizenship or resident visas. The proportion of homes transferred to overseas people rose to 3.3 per cent in the March quarter, from 2.9 per cent in the December 2017 quarter, it said.