Aaron Drever talks to staff at The Fish and Chippery in Grey Lynn. A liquidator claims Drever helped negotiate the deal to buy the outlet. Photo / Supplied
Aaron Drever talks to staff at The Fish and Chippery in Grey Lynn. A liquidator claims Drever helped negotiate the deal to buy the outlet. Photo / Supplied
A Crown prosecutor and senior MBIE investigator are preparing briefs of evidence from key witnesses as they build a case against struck-off real estate agent Aaron Drever, a liquidator claims.
The investigation relates to Drever's alleged links to a chain of Auckland fast food restaurants and the liquidation of a rich Australian businessman's fish and chip company in May last year.
A liquidator's report published on the Companies Office website says the investigation is progressing "with a view to bringing criminal charges" in connection with potential breaches of the Insolvency Act.
Bondi entrepreneur Andrew Phillips placed his company The Fish and Chip Co Ltd into liquidation last year after ploughing more than $100,000 into the business.
He told liquidators he thought he was buying three Fish and Chippery companies in Birkenhead, Onehunga and Grey Lynn, and claimed the deal had been arranged by Drever.
However, it later emerged that although a sale and purchase agreement was drawn up, it was never properly executed.
Liquidators trying to trace where Phillips' money went claim Fish and Chippery takings appear to have been split between multiple Eftpos machines, with the money diverted into different bank accounts.
Liquidator Gareth Hoole told the Herald up to 50 per cent of takings he had tracked appeared to have been spent on purposes other than company expenditure.
The Fish and Chippery store on Richmond Rd in Grey Lynn. Photo / Michael Craig
Drever - an undischarged bankrupt who lost his licence to practise real estate in 2016 for repeated misconduct - is not a listed director or shareholder of any of the companies. But he's alleged to have been closely involved with the businesses' operations and even spotted manning the deep fryer.
He strenuously denies any wrongdoing and says he has not breached his bankruptcy obligation, stressing that he was only a company employee.
A six-month liquidation report into The Fish and Chip Co Limited's collapse has highlighted concerns around the apparent sale process for the three Fish and Chippery businesses and signalled the potential for further legal action.
"The Liquidators have established that the sale and purchase documentation was flawed for a number of reasons; seemingly by design on the part of a certain individual who was purporting to act for the vendors and also for the purchaser."
The Herald has confirmed the "individual" referred to is Drever.
"The individual concerned was an undischarged bankrupt at that time and remains such. His actions have been reported to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) who are conducting investigations.
"The Liquidators are considering further actions against that individual."
Former estate agent Aaron Drever is linked to a fish and chip company in liquidation. Photo / File
The report says the lease on the Birkenhead store was terminated by the landlord for non-payment of rent. The landlord had also proved that all the chattels were owned by them, "and could thus not have been sold as part of the aforementioned sale and purchase transaction".
The liquidators took possession of chattels in the Onehunga store but they were of little commercial value given their state and age, the report says.
The "purported vendor" of the Grey Lynn store was Fish and Chippery Grey Lynn Limited, whose sole director is Debra Jane Wymer.
The liquidator's report says the vendor had challenged the sale process' validity, claiming that the party purporting to represent them - Drever - had no authority to do so.
"However, on the basis that a [sale] did not occur, they appear to have been the beneficiary of a great deal of money paid into the business by [Phillips' company] and the Liquidators are in the process of preparing a claim for repayment of those funds," the report says.
It also alleges that a real estate agency that purported to act as a broker in the sale process had released Phillips' $15,000 deposit, which was being held in a trust account, without the proper authority.
The liquidators were considering further legal action to recover the deposit.
Hoole told the Herald poor financial record-keeping had "muddied the waters", making it difficult to ascertain how much money had been spent.
It was unclear whether this was due to "poor administration" or "by design".
The matter was now with a senior MBIE investigator and Crown prosecutor, who were gathering evidence and witness statements, Hoole claimed.
"As far as I'm aware the ministry is trying to build a case to bring a prosecution against him for continuing to trade whilst an undischarged bankrupt."
Hoole said a lawyer acting for the vendor of the Grey Lynn business had stated that Drever did not have a "mandate" to sell the business and any sale and purchase agreement that had been drawn up was not legitimate.
"All roads appear to lead back to Drever," he claimed.
"They guy has got a story for everything. Every time I went to him there was another story."
MBIE's manager integrity and enforcement, Vanessa Cook, said an investigation into Drever remained ongoing.
"MBIE does not comment on the status of such investigations while they are underway, as this could prejudice ongoing inquiries."
In a statement, Drever's lawyer said the report highlighted that the director and shareholder's obligations were never met, but as Drever was neither, he could not comment on the liquidator's commentary.
The lawyer said it was Drever's understanding that the director of Fish & Chip Co Limited received funds in excess of $240,000 from one store, "and circa $175,000 from the other two into the trading account from sales obtained during their tenure".
"Furthermore, in relation to any expenses and unallocated funds that has been represented by the liquidator, that would be the responsibility of the director as he controlled the banking facilities."
No sale and purchase agreement was ever entered into, except for an initial draft agreement prepared by Fish & Chip Co Limited's legal team which was never executed, the statement says.
"While it's important to highlight the findings of the second liquidator's report, one can not step away from the legal obligations of the company director and solely lay blame with an employee acting on instructions."
