Car dealership collapses, ERA finds director liable for wage arrears
- 12 hours ago
- 2 min read
In an otherwise mundane determination of the Employment Relations Authority, that found the director of a failed company liable for unpaid wages (around $8,400, plus $800 costs), our interest was piqued because of the liquidation company’s chequered history.
With liquidations currently at a 15 year high, we have noticed an increase in claims under Section 142W of the Employment Relations Act, and the amount awarded in this context is middling.
The sole director and shareholder of Vehicle Direct Ltd (in liquidation) was Muhammad Waseem, who put the company into liquidation on 4 September 2025. As per the ERA determination, he has been ordered to reimburse Mr Singh out of his own pocket.
The company involved in the liquidation is Liquidation Management Ltd, whose sole director is Imran Kamal. Because Kamal was refused membership of RITANZ (upheld by the Court of Appeal in mid-2021) due to a 2013 fraud conviction, and the Insolvency Practitioners Regulation Act 2019 (IPRA) requires all liquidators to be members of RITANZ or NZICA, Kamal had to offload all his files by 1 September 2021, the day the IPRA came into full effect.
Pre-IPRA, the insolvency profession was unregulated, and Kamal was practicing as an unlicensed liquidator for several years (the fraud conviction prevented him from working as a Chartered Accountant but not a liquidator).
Even with the IPRA in place, there is nothing to stop Kamal operating a company that employs Chartered Accountants and Licensed Insolvency Practitioners (liquidators) – which he does. He is also allowed to assist in liquidations as long as he is supervised by the real liquidator.
But apparently Westpac didn’t like what it saw because five days after the liquidator was appointed, and appointed a receiver “over the top”, which means the receivership takes priority over the liquidation.
Along with Vehicle Direct, two other related entities were placed in liquidation and receivership – Auto Trading Ltd and Auto Compliance & Repairs Ltd.
The most recent Receiver’s report gives away little, but BusinessDesk has reported that vehicles went missing.
Non-publication orders prevent us from saying much more at this stage, but why are we not surprised that cars have disappeared?
Tristam Price, Editor
Comments