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The liquidator of the 20 failed Blue Chip related companies says he has secured government funding for an investigation into the group.
At the first of two sessions of creditors' meetings in Auckland today, Jeff Meltzer told the hundreds of gathered investors that he had met with Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel last week.
As a result of that meeting he could confirm government funding was available to support the liquidators' review of the Blue Chip structured property investment scheme.
He said it would not be used to pay the liquidators' fees, but would go towards costs such as hiring experts to help them trace what had happened to investors' money.
However he said he did not support calls for putting the Blue Chip group of companies into Statutory Management, because he didn't believe it was in creditors' best interests at this time.
Meltzer confirmed to investors this morning that Blue Chip co-founder Mark Bryers was required to be at the meeting, as he was a former director of three of the companies.
His failure to appear was an offence under the Companies Act, and the matter would be referred to the national enforcement unit.
The directors of the New Zealand Blue Chip franchise companies did attend the meeting.
Neil Bell told creditors he had been talking to the liquidators on an almost daily basis, and he and fellow director Rikki Flowerday had told them all they knew about the affairs of the franchise companies.
However this didn't satisfy creditors, who demanded to know where missing rental income payments had gone.
Bell said he was unable to comment further at this stage.
