Dear Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment,

From: MJ Stewart

23 March 2016

Dear Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment,

Since 2011 have there been any cases of the Insolvency and Trustee
Services seizing property and assets located abroad from those New
Zealanders who went bankrupt. Of special interest is those New
Zealanders who went bankrupt for the sole purpose of wiping their
outstanding student loan obligations to the Inland Revenue
Department.

Please provide the number of cases where the IRD was the sole
debtor in bankruptcy cases where overseas assets and properties
were seized and in which country the assets were seized. I am
interested to see how this has changed over the last five years.

Could you also provide the legal mechanism or process for other
sovereign governments to cooperate with the relevant New Zealand
ministries involved in recouping this student debt. I.e. How does
the relevant government ministry go about getting a bankrupt debtor
to pay their debts when bankrupt in New Zealand but living abroad?

Yours faithfully,

MJ Stewart