A further 23 entities linked to Canterbury investment firm Chance Voight have been ordered into liquidation, as a Financial Markets Authority (FMA) investigation into the group continues.
The High Court ordered the FMA's application last Thursday, bringing dozens of companies and partnerships associated with the group under the same liquidation process.
The court found entities within the group that held bank accounts were insolvent and unable to pay their debts as they fell due.
It also ordered entities without bank accounts into liquidation, finding it was "artificial" to see them as separate from the wider Chance Voight group and that liquidation was justified.
FMA head of enforcement Margot Gatland said bringing the entities together under one liquidation process would help protect investors and creditors.
"We welcome the Court's decision. The judgement recognises that the active entities are insolvent, and that it is just and equitable to liquidate the inactive companies given how the group was structured," she said.
"Our investigation into the group and associated parties continues, and we encourage anyone with information to contact us."
The decision joined part of an ongoing investigation into the Rangiora-based investment firm launched by the FMA in December last year.
At the time, the regulator said it had "serious concerns" over the management and financial position of the group, which is made up of a number of companies and partnerships.
Those concerns included that the group appeared to be insolvent, had failed to supply information to FMA when required to do so and may have misled investors or failed to comply with legal requirements for investment officers made to the public.
Six Chance Voight entities were placed into interim liquidation in December and were liquidated by the High Court in July, with a report saying investors faced a "substantial shortfall" as the group reported a negative net asset position of nearly $12 million.
Following the release of the report, FMA then sought to liquidate a further 25 entities linked to the Chance Voight Group, citing concerns about how they were being run and whether they could meet their financial obligations.
FMA previously said it had taken steps to preserve assets and protect investors and investigations into the group continued.
SHARE ME