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Former Green MP Darleen Tana’s husband Christian Hoff-Nielsen has opened a new bike business.
Hoff-Nielsen’s return to business has dismayed former employees, who say he still owes them money.
His former business went into liquidation in July after worker exploitation claims.
Embattled businessman Christian Hoff-Nielsen registered a new “bicycle hiring” company last week, despite widespread claims of migrant exploitation at his previous business.
An employment dispute with Argentine migrant Santiago Latour Palma was central to the worker exploitation allegations that engulfed Nielsen’s wife, former Green MP Darleen Tana. The couple have since separated.
This week Tana was ousted from Parliament after an investigation found she continued to be involved with the company despite claiming not to be – and at times that involvement was “extensive”.
Palma said he was “disappointed and frustrated” to learn Hoff-Nielsen had started a new bike business.
“In the beginning, I was so scared of giving my face to the public because of the hate ... but now enough is enough,” Palma said.
Palma has made a claim for $25,000 in unpaid and lost wages and annual leave and $15,000 compensation in his complaint to the Employment Relations Authority (ERA).
He said it has been hard for him to find work after the highly publicised saga – and none of the former employees he is in touch with have received compensation.
“Nobody is getting paid, nobody has received nothing.
“It’s really sad,” Palma said.
Hoff-Nielsen’s previous business E Cycles NZ Ltd, trading as Bikes and Beyond, owed Inland Revenue and former employees more than $400,000 when it went into voluntary liquidation on July 16.
Despite financial woes, Hoff-Nielsen is listed as the director and only shareholder of Woohoo Trading Ltd, which New Zealand Companies Office records show was registered on October 17.
Christian Hoff-Nielsen, ex-husband of former Greens MP Darleen Tana, has opened a new business. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Palma described his disillusion with the New Zealand justice and employment system, which had been promoted to him before he moved to the country.
“Darlene continued receiving her [Parliament] salary for many months ... and now Christian opened a parallel business renting his bikes.
“This is stress ... this is not real quality of life.”
Palma said he has tried to contact immigration minister Erica Stanford for help, to no avail.
The report says she continued to be involved with the company despite claiming not to be and at times that involvement was “extensive”.
“In summary, it seems her day-to-day operational involvement in E Cycles reduced around mid-2019, but she continued over the following three years to support and assist the business,” the executive summary says.
Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.
