Dominion Finance directors sentenced

16 August 2013

Dominion Finance directors sentenced

Three former directors of Dominion Finance and North South Finance have today been sentenced to home detention following a prosecution taken by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA).

Vance Eric Arkinstall, who pleaded guilty to five Securities Act charges including making untrue statements in offer documents, was sentenced to 10 months home detention and 200 hours of community work.

Richard Gilbert Bettle, who pleaded guilty to five Securities Act charges including making untrue statements in offer documents, was sentenced to 10 months home detention, 200 hours of community work and ordered to pay $90,000 in reparations.

Paul Winston Forsyth, who pleaded guilty to seven Securities Act charges including making untrue statements in offer documents, was sentenced to 11 months home detention, 200 hours of community work and ordered to pay $50,000 in reparations.

They were sentenced today in the Auckland High Court.

FMA CEO, Sean Hughes, said the men failed to perform their role as directors and that they did not take the steps required to ensure that they were aware of the true position of the company.

“Investors, many of them elderly, lost significant amounts of money and the effect of this has put a great deal of financial and emotional strain on them. They did not deserve this betrayal of trust,” said Mr Hughes.

“What this case highlights, like the many other finance company cases, is the responsibility of directors to provide truthful, accurate and timely disclosure of material information to investors.”

Dominion Finance and North South Finance were subsidiaries of Dominion Finance Holdings Limited.

Dominion Finance went into receivership in 2008 owing $176.9 million to approximately 5,900 investors. North South Finance was placed in receivership in 2010 owing $31 million to approximately 3900 debenture holders.

ENDS

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