ACC has invested public funds in troubled finance companies

While one young man protests at Dominion Finance’s door, simply asking for the return of his inheritance that has been frozen to prop up Dominion Finance’s liquidity, the authorities look the other way.

It is difficult to justify freezing individual investors savings when a state owned corporate

(Accident Compensation Corporation) is listed as a substantial shareholder in a troubled finance company. Dominion Finance Holdings has frozen 9020 investors funds to the value of $276 million, while Dorchester Pacific another troubled finance company ACC has a shareholding in has frozen $168 million of investor’s savings.

What ever happened to shareholders and directors supporting their own company?

Exposing Unacceptable Financial Activities (EUFA) is deeply concerned that on 19th June 2008 (when Dominion froze funds) the Accident Compensation Corporation was listed as a major shareholder in Dominion Finance, while yesterday politicians seemed oblivious of the public funds at risk as they debate weather ACC is to be privatized or not.

EUFA finance spokesman Gray Eatwell said today that, “It is scandalous to think that while such large sums of individual and public funds are at risk in this crisis, that any priority treatment could be given to protect shareholders above investors, particularly a public body like ACC”.

“The fact is that investors savings have been withheld with the express purpose to protect the shareholders, not the investors and as a consequence individuals savings are being used to protect public funds invested in the private sector. How fair is that?”

“There have been some horrendous losses involved in what can only be described as negligent compliance enforcement by the Securities Commission and others with a statutory duty to police the finance sector, therefore it is way past time for the Government to uphold its duty and deal with this matter in the public interest. Ends.