An East Tāmaki house razed by a large fire late last night is owned by a wealthy Chinese businessman accused of running a massive pyramid scheme from Canada.
A brick feature wall and a fireplace are all that remains of the four-bedroom home along Point View Drive, after a fire ripped through the property from 8.30pm.
The massive blaze, which spewed smoke and yellow flames into the night sky, took firefighters almost six hours to put out.
Records show the 25m by 30m property is owned by Xiao Hua Gong, who is accused of accruing $202 million dollars via a pyramid scheme selling medicines in China.