Zespri appears unconcerned about potentially facing new legal action relating to a highly publicised under-invoicing scandal in China.
One News has reported the single-desk kiwifruit marketer is being sued for NZ$33.5m (US$28.3m) by two of its former Chinese importers, Shanghai Neuhof Trade Company and Shanghai Hui Zhang Logistic Limited, who claim their supply contracts were wrongfully terminated when the scandal arose. Legal representatives for the importers allegedly filed a statement of claim with the High Court in Auckland last week.
However, Zespri is adamant there is no substance to the claim, with the matter already having been heard before a court of law.
“The allegations in this claim relate to matters that happened last decade,” a Zespri spokesperson told Asiafruit. “They were rejected by the Chinese courts and we expect the New Zealand courts will do the same.”
In March 2013, a Shanghai Court found Zespri’s China-based subsidiary guilty of being an accessory to the under-declaration of customs duties between 2008 and 2010. The court ordered Zespri to pay a RMB5m (US$800,000) fine, while one of its employees was jailed for five years. The company was unable to overturn either penalty on appeal.
Xiongjie Liu, of Neuhof Trade, was sentenced to 13 years jail for his involvement in the smuggling case. However, Liu’s family have alleged the former importer had only acted on instructions from Zespri and is now seeking damages.
Neuhof Trade is rumoured to have partnered with Southern Fresh Fruit Exports Limited in a bid to establish a second desk for exporting New Zealand-grown kiwifruit to China. It is understood Liu’s nephew, Auckland-based Jhun Si, would serve as a director of the new company.
Zespri is currently being investigated by New Zealand’s Serious Fraud Office, although the substance and scope of this inquest has not been made public.
