Kit Fawcett was declared bankrupt in 2010 over a debt owed on the Tairua Palms subdivision in the Coromandel.
Kit Fawcett was declared bankrupt in 2010 over a debt owed on the Tairua Palms subdivision in the Coromandel.
Failed property developer accused of running businesses while legally prohibited.
A failed property developer and former All Black has been charged with running businesses while bankrupt.
Christopher (Kit) Fawcett of Hamilton, who played two test matches for the All Blacks in 1976, faces two charges of breaching the Insolvency Act after an investigation by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment into his involvement in the running of a business without consent.
The ministry's insolvency and trustee service national manager, Robyn Cox, said the Official Assignee last October laid two charges against Fawcett.
One alleges he ran a business between October 1, 2011, and October 1 last year, and the other that he ran a business between May 7, 2012, and April 9 last year.
His next court appearance is set for Tuesday next week in the Hamilton District Court.
The Herald understands one of the businesses Fawcett is alleged to have been involved in managing while bankrupt was Kingsland Station Ltd.
The company, which owned an apartment block in Sandringham Rd in the inner Auckland suburb of Kingsland, was put into receivership in April last year after defaulting on two mortgages worth $2.13 million.
Fawcett was declared bankrupt on September 14, 2010, over an outstanding $1.34 million debt to the Southland Building Society for money borrowed on a failed subdivision, the Tairua Palms Estate in the Coromandel.
A person declared bankrupt is not allowed to be involved in the direct management of a company without permission from the Official Assignee or the court.
Meanwhile, Fawcett is appealing against a judgment of the High Court at Hamilton that he had moved millions of dollars worth of properties and shares to a company he was linked with to avoid repaying the Southland Building Society.
The long-running matter was brought before the High Court in 2012 by the Official Assignee.
In 1976, Fawcett played two tests at fullback for the All Blacks.
Several objections Fawcett made have been dismissed.
In November 2012, Associate Judge John Faire ordered 10 of Fawcett's properties, valued at $3.13 million, and shares worth $44,902.44 be transferred to the Official Assignee after he found that the agreements were made with the intent to prejudice a creditor or without receiving a fair value for them.
The properties had been transferred to a company linked to Fawcett - JEC Limited No 2 - and part of the sale condition was that no payment was required for 40 years.
The property transfers were made on August 4, 2008, and the shares held by Craigs Investment Partners were moved days before Fawcett was made bankrupt.
Associate Judge Faire said Fawcett might have made the transfers because he misunderstood his position as guarantor.
Meanwhile, the Official Assignee has filed a further claim of $370,000 in the High Court at Hamilton to recover other debts from another company linked to Fawcett and owed to the Official Assignee.
Fawcett is listed as a current bankrupt on the Insolvency Register.
He said the charges were to keep him in bankruptcy after the statutory three years were up.
Kit Fawcett
In 1976, when he was 21, claimed before his sole tour to South Africa that the All Blacks hoped to "score more off the field than on''. *Played two tests and 11 matches for the All Blacks in 1976. *Was behind the failed Tairua subdivision Tairua Palms Estate, on which work stalled in 2008. *Declared bankrupt on September 14, 2010. *On November 5, 2012, 10 of Fawcett's Hamilton properties were transferred to the Official Assignee by court order. *On October 1, 2013, the Official Assignee laid two charges against Fawcett of running a business while bankrupt. *He is to appear in Hamilton District Court on March 25.
