Tuariki Delamere, a former immigration minister, has lost his licence to practise as an immigration consultant following a court defeat and a bankruptcy declaration.
In 2012, he reached an agreement with Chinese businessman Yingheng Liu, who was applying for residency via a business visa.
Liu invested $500,000 in a venture that directed clients to Delamere, but his visa application was denied.
Delamere unsuccessfully challenged a 2021 ruling on the funds, taking the case all the way to the Supreme Court. Last month, Liu went back to the High Court seeking a bankruptcy order after receiving less than $95,000 in repayments.
Duncan Connor, registrar of the Immigration Advisers Authority, stated that as an undischarged bankrupt, Delamere was not allowed to hold a licence as an immigration adviser.
His licence was revoked on Tuesday.
The court was informed that TDA Botany, holding Liu’s $500,000, took on the obligation to pay the salaries of two current employees of TDA Immigration.
“Once Mr Liu obtained permanent residency, he had the right to transfer his shares in TDA Botany back to Mr Delamere in return for repayment of the funds held on term deposit,” the initial court ruling said.
“The agreement did not prescribe what was to happen if his application for permanent residency was declined, as in fact occurred.”
“Immigration New Zealand was not convinced that Mr Liu had committed the funds held on term deposit for use in TDA Botany’s business. Further, it considered that TDA Botany had effectively retained the services of two existing employees and had not created the three new employment positions required in accordance with the Entrepreneur Plus scheme.”
Delamere assisted Liu in appealing to the Immigration and Protection Tribunal and the High Court, but both appeals were unsuccessful.
“Mr Liu then asked Mr Delamere to repay the funds held on term deposit but discovered that most of the money had been transferred to a current account used to meet TDA Botany’s operating expenses.”
“Mr Delamere had instructed the bank to transfer the funds because, contrary to the agreement, Mr Liu was not in fact the sole signatory on the term deposit account. Both Mr Delamere and his son had the ability to give the bank instructions about the use of the money on term deposit.”
Delamere was lodging a complaint with the Banking Ombudsman regarding advice he claimed to have received about withdrawing funds from the term deposit account.
He said he sold the business to his daughter last year, despite still being listed as a director and shareholder in the Companies Register for TDA Wellington and Botany.
Liu was also shown to hold a 30% stake in TDA Botany.
Delamere was cleared of fraud charges connected to business visa applications in 2007 and later alleged that the Serious Fraud Office had conducted a vendetta against him.