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An Auckland businesswoman, whose death is at the center of a homicide investigation, is believed to have owed millions of dollars to foreign backers of her beleaguered businesses.
Mystery surrounds the identity of the foreign financiers, who invested more than $ 10 million in the purchase of Digipost, a film production company by Elizabeth (Ying) Zhong.
Meanwhile, an accountant who handled the sale of the business has described a strange and puzzling transaction, in which he never learned the identity of the financial backers.
The 55-year-old woman’s body was discovered in her car near her home in East Auckland on Saturday. She was previously subjected to a brutal attack at her home.
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Police have launched a homicide investigation and forensic specialists are turning their attention to his $ 2 million home in Suzetta Pl, Sunnyhills.
An autopsy was completed on Monday, but a police process continues to formally identify her.
Zhong had expanding business interests, but was in dire financial straits in the run-up to his death.
The Epsom facilities of Digipost, a visual effects and post-production company, were recently sold in a mortgage sale.
Supplied
Elizabeth (Ying) Zhong, 55, was reported missing on Saturday morning.
Zhong was also the sole director and shareholder of the bankrupt Kennedy Point Group Ltd and Carrick Wines Ltd wine companies, as well as another of her businesses, Sunbow Ltd.
Things He understands that Zhong was in the red for foreign financial backers with ties to China and Hong Kong, and was taking on even more debt because he couldn’t keep up with interest payments.
Digipost (formerly Digital Post) was founded 30 years ago by Garry Little and was a key original player in the Auckland film industry, employing specialized staff.
Little and the other shareholders sold the business and its land and buildings to Zhong in 2017.
Auckland Chartered Accountant Matthew Bellingham handled the sale transaction on behalf of the former shareholders.
He said the sale had several unusual aspects, from the buyer’s lack of due diligence to the huge sum of money from a mysterious foreign backer.
“We assumed it would come out of China somewhere,” he said.
“We always thought there was something a little wrong with all of this.”
Chris McKeen / Stuff
Forensic specialists continued their investigations at Zhong’s home in East Auckland on Monday.
Throughout the entire process, he never met Zhong, instead dealing with his accountant in Auckland, Sam Chan, and lawyer Jean Ong.
Neither Chan nor Ong commented when asked where the money to buy Digipost came from.
“It’s confidential, number one,” Chan said. “No 2, no comment.”
Three years after the sale, Bellingham said he remembered a number of oddities and red flags. “It was a really strange transaction.”
They wanted the purchase to be structured as a stock sale rather than an asset sale, unusual for the size of the business, Bellingham said.
By 2018, Zhong was the sole director of the company, and one of her now-insolvent vineyard companies, Sunbow, had four separate share allocations.
Company records show that Sunbow Ltd had two shareholders: Zhong and Sunbow Investment Ltd, which was listed at a central Hong Kong address.
During the sale process, Zhong and his representatives did very little research or due diligence on the company they were buying, Bellingham said.
Chris McKeen / Stuff
Flowers placed near Zhong’s home on Monday.
The money, believed to be around $ 10 million, was paid into a lawyer’s trust account on time and distributed without a hitch, he said.
“We thought there was something a little strange about the origin of the mass. We never knew who the sponsors were or anything.
“But again, where the money came from has nothing to do with us as long as it arrives. [before] current anti-money laundering legislation. “
Bellingham said he was told at the time of the deal that Zhong hoped to land post-production and visual effects work from the Chinese film and television industry, but that never happened.
Chris McKeen / Stuff
The home on a quiet suburban street remained cordoned off Monday, with an armed officer stationed outside.
Digipost was New Zealand’s leading post-production company in its heyday and it ran profitably with its former owners, plus a rough couple of years, he said.
Bellingham said a former employee and shareholder who spent time with the company under its new ownership was concerned by what he saw.
“He said they were just making strange business decisions, sinking the thing.
“He was … a little upset about what was happening, because it was his baby.”
Anyone with information useful for the police investigation was asked to contact 105, quoting the file number 201128/1909, or to communicate anonymously through Crimestoppers at 0800 555 111.
Chris McKeen / Stuff
A police photographer at work inside Zhong’s home.
