A Serious Fraud Office investigation has begun into an Auckland couple's financial advisory businesses after $12 million in investor money disappeared, it was reported today.Mike and Jackie Bradley's business, Bradley&Bradley, was run from an office
A Serious Fraud Office investigation has begun into an Auckland couple's financial advisory businesses after $12 million in investor money disappeared, it was reported today.
Mike and Jackie Bradley's business, Bradley&Bradley, was run from an office in Auckland's Vero Centre but SFO investigators had been unable to find any investor money after the business collapsed just before Christmas.
The Companies Office began investigations last year after complaints from investors, and four firms jointly run by the couple were placed in liquidation on December 21.
The businesses were B'On Financial Services, B'On Financial Services NZ, Bradley O'Neill Financial Planners and Bradley O'Neill Financial Services. Another company of which Mr Bradley is the sole director, Rosehip Nominees, has also been placed in liquidation.
Liquidators Brian Mayo-Smith and David O'Connor, from BDO Auckland, said they had tracked down 36 investors, but said there might be more. The average amount outstanding for each investor was around $300,000 but some had invested much more.
The only assets liquidators had identified was some office furniture.
Mr O'Connor said much of investors' money was said to have been invested overseas but they had found proper financial and accounting records.
Jackie Bradley was one of New Zealand's first professional financial advisers to target female investors and in 1988, she published a book called The Winning Woman under her maiden name, Jackie O'Neill.
The couple's Remuera home was valued in 2008 at $4.7 million.
A fortnight ago, they set up a new company, Juniper Associates. Its registered address is an accountancy firm in Newmarket.
Yesterday Mrs Bradley denied there was an investigation and denied $12m was missing.
