Emirates Team New Zealand.

[fish7yu 10]

12 minutes ago, RobG said:

Likely they have a pretty good idea of the foils they want for the match, no point in showing them off early or using up any of their 4 remaining foils until they really need to. Maybe B1 will never be fitted with a different set of foils until a set is discarded by B2.

Extract from Sail-World by RG:

Te Aihe put in a three hour session punctuated with plenty of stops as adjustments were made to the AC75. As for the wings, the defenders appear to have reverted to running the same bulbless wings as they used up to when Te Aihe had her last sail in mid-January.

Speculation is that the old wings were used to recalibrate the control systems and settings on the boat to be the same as when it stopped sailing, and that state will be used as a benchmark when the new design developments developed on their 12metre test boat Te Aihe are tested in full scale.

America's Cup: Auckland's AC75 fleet doubles in a single day

 

[Indio 315]

35 minutes ago, fish7yu said:

America's Cup 2021: Team New Zealand insiders deny being spies, claim they're whistleblowers

They lawyered up very promptly and are now invoking whistle-blower status under their legal advice to claim name protection under our Whistleblowing legislation. ETNZ lawyers should be going through the NDAs with a view to suing the informants. 

[WakaNZ 37]

41 minutes ago, fish7yu said:

America's Cup 2021: Team New Zealand insiders deny being spies, claim they're whistleblowers

This makes more sense given ACE was created by M&C and ETNZ

[WakaNZ 37]

B1    Te Aihe 

B.5   Te Kahu

B2.   Te ????

 

 

[kenergy 283]

4 minutes ago, WakaNZ said:

B1    Te Aihe 

B.5   Te Kahu

B2.   Te ????

 

 

Te Mako

Te Mangopare

[phill_nz 469]

te karearea

te maki

[Indio 315]

1 hour ago, WakaNZ said:

B1    Te Aihe 

B.5   Te Kahu

B2.   Te ????

 

 

Te Real Deal 

[minimumfuss 25]

Te Ariki. The chief.

Te kera wera, the orca

Or McSomething.

Or, ask aucklanders, they came up with the Blues. 

[Tornado-Cat 693]

Dalton: "Read my lips, no more leaks". Smack, who do you think is swimming above ?

 

[Indio 315]

On 6/30/2020 at 4:58 AM, phill_nz said:

some of their client list from https://www.mayoandcalder.com/about-us

Our partnersHips

Tourism New Zealand
Pernod Ricard
DHL
Coca Cola Amatil
AON
Mighty River Power
Mainfreight
NZME
Fairfax
Heineken
Feenix
Willis Insurance
Volvo Group
Volvo Cars
Hyundai
Audi
Vocus
Ministry of Business and Economic Innovation
Hong Kong Sailing Federation
Long Burroughs
Minter Ellison Watts

Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development
Auckland Council
Turners and Growers
Jucy Rentals
Contact Energy
Banklink
Puma
Samsung
Sport NZ
Emirates Team New Zealand
Minter Ellison Watts New Zealand
Volvo Ocean Race
TVNZ
Sky Sports
Peroni
Hong Kong Government
Heineken
Adidas
Nike
China Southern Airlines
Panasonic
Government of Victoria

Treasury Wine Estates
2XU
Asics
Air New Zealand
Hamilton Council
Villa Maria
Waipa District Council
Douglas Pharmaceuticals
Athletics New Zealand
Port Taranaki
Balance nutrition
Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron
Cookson Boats
Southern Spas
Doyle Sails
DriPhone
Vodafone
DB Breweries
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club
Vinda

 

even just the ones from the yachting world would be a hefty base to lose

there are as well many who support etnz .. and even more who would not want to be seen as anti etnz

That is a very comprehensive list of high-powered clients "partnerships" which includes some big multinational companies, for a two-man company registered just 5 years ago, with no physical address except an accountant's office as the address for service, no contact details except a website, and seemingly with no employees!! I wonder what they did for all those big names listed?

The two principals Thomas Mayo and Grant Calder have rather interesting backgrounds. Thomas Mayo is a yank out of California and is a principal of SOS Hydration (with family members back in the US), and has SOS Hydration NZ Ltd and Mayo And Limited in addition to Mayo & Calder Ltd., and appears to live in a modest brick 'n tile in Ellerslie whick looks like a rental property.

Grant Calder has his own Calder Consultancy company touted as "Event, recreational or promotional, management", with the same accountant's address for service as Mayo&Calder.

Make of it what you will

[Ex-yachtie 855]

A very detailed description of various allegations: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12344399

[Ex-yachtie 855]

 

 

[Xlot 371]

35 minutes ago, Ex-yachtie said:

A very detailed description of various allegations: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12344399

Misallocation of public funds! Parbleu! Those amateurs should have asked us Italians  

[smackdaddy 238]

Heh. I hate to say I told you so....

Actually, no I don't.

[NSP 58]

52 minutes ago, Ex-yachtie said:

A very detailed description of various allegations: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12344399

This would seem to confirm the whistle-blowing party given the law firm mentioned is on the list of "partnerships".  It may be an all-mighty coincidence, but that seems unlikely.

This looks very, very messy for GD.

[Stingray~ 488]

more

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/americas-cup/news/article.cfm?c_id=531&objectid=12344408&ref=rss

[Stingray~ 488]

58 minutes ago, Ex-yachtie said:

A very detailed description of various allegations: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12344399

GD is going to be live at the NewsTalk link there, in a few minutes from now

[Miffy 1,187]

Just watch it play out - tho it should be mentioned:

1) whistleblowing/corporate espionage are not mutually exclusive - one can for example be leaking completely inappropriate matters to a competitor with no business of knowing, while also observing impropriety & handing that information to government/ethic authorities. 

2) nationality will likely have very little to do with it - let's not pretend Kiwis haven't defected to larger employers and taken special joy in fucking over past teammates/domestic adversaries; or entertained to gain special favor with deep pockets abroad with the hope it'll provide a payday. 

[Priscilla 1,178]

9 hours ago, WakaNZ said:

B1    Te Aihe 

B.5   Te Kahu

B2.   Te ????

 

 

Te Loot.

Where  is Te Loot Grant.

Crikey this thing is a mess.

Dalton points to a contender involvement now says ETNZ was defrauded scammed loot in Hungary not returning wtf.

A quick look around the AC infrastructure paid for by the public purse certainly appears light to say the least.

ETNZ and ACE have received in excess of $270 mil time for the books to be opened urgently me thinks without hiding behind the cloak of commercial sensitivity.

 

[Miffy 1,187]

28 minutes ago, Priscilla said:

Te Loot.

Where  is Te Loot Grant.

Crikey this thing is a mess.

Dalton points to a contender involvement now says ETNZ was defrauded scammed loot in Hungary not returning wtf.

A quick look around the AC infrastructure paid for by the public purse certainly appears light to say the least.

ETNZ and ACE have received in excess of $270 mil time for the books to be opened urgently me thinks without hiding behind the cloak of commercial sensitivity.

 

It shouldn't be difficult in this era of covid international lockdown to keep everyone involved in NZ & investigate the facts and ascertain who was involved and did what. 

For example, if the payment to the alleged Hungarian account was made supposedly to a contractor but fraudulent account, it shouldn't be difficult to find out 1) what the contractor/vendor was supposed to be doing; 2) whether genuine services & payments were ever made; and 3) which individuals were involved in authorizing and processing said payment. You wouldn't expect for example, a CEO who signs the checks to have knowledge of bank routing numbers and SWIFT codes - OTOH if your financial/comptroller director questioned the payment and the CEO pushed it thru? That's a diff matter altogether. 

Let's hope the transparency and low level of corruption NZ is known for continues.

[Indio 315]

1 hour ago, BSPN said:

This would seem to confirm the whistle-blowing party given the law firm mentioned is on the list of "partnerships".  It may be an all-mighty coincidence, but that seems unlikely.

This looks very, very messy for GD.

More disconcerting is how easily they were scammed into paying money into a scammer's Hungarian bank account - we hear this happening to elderly superannuitants but to a "professional" outfit?

 

[smackdaddy 238]

37 minutes ago, Miffy said:

Let's hope the transparency and low level of corruption NZ was known for returns.

FIFY

As I said many weeks ago, the $250M poured into this debacle by the government is mostly wasted now...and the damage is obviously growing worse by the day. They are not going to limp away quietly because GD leads a bunch of deluded KiWhingers^TM in a rousing rendition of "For Ourselves".

This is about as bad as it gets. The knives are obviously out now in KiwiLand.

[Miffy 1,187]

35 minutes ago, Indio said:

More disconcerting is how easily they were scammed into paying money into a scammer's Hungarian bank account - we hear this happening to elderly superannuitants but to a "professional" outfit?

 

Will have to see whether it was an insider job or something else going on. Corporate scams that I’ve heard of tend to be surprisingly easy if the right person is compromised - e.g. finance director/comptroller who routinely delivers payment approval slips and the leadership’s role in signing it off is supposed to be a mere formality or approval re whether payment schedule for services rendered or product is appropriate. 
 

You wouldn’t expect a CEO to get nitty gritty checking account numbers and swift codes. 

31 minutes ago, smackdaddy said:

FIFY

As I said many weeks ago, the $250M poured into this debacle by the government is mostly wasted now...and the damage is obviously growing worse by the day. They are not going to limp away quietly because GD leads a bunch of deluded KiWhingers^TM in a rousing rendition of "For Ourselves".

This is about as bad as it gets. The knives are obviously out now in KiwiLand.

I don’t know you and don’t know what’s your relationship with New Zealand - but as I said, let it play out and don’t assume a massive conspiracy from the onset. In this time in particular, I don’t understand why you’re carrying on with a sense of schadenfreude when literally EVERYONE is hoping to have something good for a change. Covid is wrecking the Americas at the moment and even Americans want to see a happy AC event. 

[kenergy 283]

11 minutes ago, Miffy said:

 

I don’t know you and don’t know what’s your relationship with New Zealand - but as I said, let it play out and don’t assume a massive conspiracy from the onset. In this time in particular, I don’t understand why you’re carrying on with a sense of schadenfreude when literally EVERYONE is hoping to have something good for a change. Covid is wrecking the Americas at the moment and even Americans want to see a happy AC event. 

Spamdaddy only posts on this forum as a troll. Best ignored. 

[weta27 1,196]

While not wanting to downplay the more serious allegations, the Town-Tremain letter also includes "operational & safety concerns" around numbers of on-water marshals and crowd management!

What the hell?

What kind of "whistleblower" would list that, something that is still under negotiation and is ultimately in the hands of the Harbourmaster?

[smackdaddy 238]

24 minutes ago, Miffy said:

I don’t know you and don’t know what’s your relationship with New Zealand - but as I said, let it play out and don’t assume a massive conspiracy from the onset. In this time in particular, I don’t understand why you’re carrying on with a sense of schadenfreude when literally EVERYONE is hoping to have something good for a change. Covid is wrecking the Americas at the moment and even Americans want to see a happy AC event. 

Well, it's simple really, Miff. This forum has been neck-deep in out-of-control Kiwi Self Righteousness and Ragging On Others for years now. While it turns out things have not been as shiny as advertised under the Emirati tent - just as I've been saying for a good while. Hence, a bit of very well-deserved schade here and there for the freude.

As for "assuming a massive conspiracy" - it appears you should have that conversation with those who wrote that letter - not me.

This thing smells to high heaven. For example, why does GD keep calling these "spies" in his midst "informants"? And now "whistleblowers"? Very different things. Shoes will keep dropping - and heads will likely roll. There has been too much money lost for everyone to simply "hope for something good".

[Indio 315]

32 minutes ago, weta27 said:

While not wanting to downplay the more serious allegations, the Town-Tremain letter also includes "operational & safety concerns" around numbers of on-water marshals and crowd management!

What the hell?

What kind of "whistleblower" would list that, something that is still under negotiation and is ultimately in the hands of the Harbourmaster?

It's called distraction - they must be fans of the corrupt dotard in the White House.

Coincidentally, The White House used to be a very "adventurous" strip joint up the top of Queen Street in a former Orthodox Jewish synagogue - really!! It still had all the wall and ceiling religious murals...

[Swanno 97]

Sounds like it was quite a juicy piece of bait that was left hanging and ended up being gulped by the fish which subsequently got hooked as the sharp bit came out the brown end. 

[Forourselves 344]

If they suspected 6 months ago, they’ve probably been intentionally feeding the (alleged) “whistleblowers” wrong information for months, just to see if they’d spread it. 

[Stingray~ 488]

2 hours ago, smackdaddy said:

They are not going to limp away quietly because GD leads a bunch of deluded KiWhingers^TM in a rousing rendition of "For Ourselves".

 Funny

[Stingray~ 488]

X? They seem to be treating it with humor.

 

[Miffy 1,187]

1 hour ago, smackdaddy said:

Well, it's simple really, Miff. This forum has been neck-deep in out-of-control Kiwi Self Righteousness and Ragging On Others for years now. While it turns out things have not been as shiny as advertised under the Emirati tent - just as I've been saying for a good while. Hence, a bit of very well-deserved schade here and there for the freude.

As for "assuming a massive conspiracy" - it appears you should have that conversation with those who wrote that letter - not me.

This thing smells to high heaven. For example, why does GD keep calling these "spies" in his midst "informants"? And now "whistleblowers"? Very different things. Shoes will keep dropping - and heads will likely roll. There has been too much money lost for everyone to simply "hope for something good".

You must either live the most carefree indifferent to the world sort of life and looking for conflict with one of the most benign 4 million peoples around or struggling with the most bitter experiences in a dark dark place. Either way - best of luck to you. 
 

 

[Stingray~ 488]

1 hour ago, smackdaddy said:

This thing smells to high heaven. For example, why does GD keep calling these "spies" in his midst "informants"? And now "whistleblowers"? Very different things. Shoes will keep dropping - and heads will likely roll. There has been too much money lost for everyone to simply "hope for something good".

It does have the potential to get bad, especially if it gets into being a political and PR fight between the Labor and National parties, over (mis)use of taxpayer money. 

But I figure the thing is a bit overblown, unfortunately an own goal in part by GD, for using the clickbait term ‘spies’ when the guys were apparently there for MBIE to be auditors. The money was probably not large, not being siphoned off to GD or Shoebie, or to other ETNZ salaries. 

The ‘Hungary’ angle is very funny, actually!  Nobody knows how to speak Hungarian to interview them, and nobody even knows their names, and GD says he has Interpol all over the case anyway, so it’s in their hands now
 

 

[smackdaddy 238]

15 minutes ago, Stingray~ said:

But I figure the thing is a bit overblown, unfortunately an own goal in part by GD, for using the clickbait term ‘spies’ when the guys were apparently there for MBIE to be auditors.

This is the crux of it. If these "spies" of GD's were actually MBIE there's a lot more going on that we've yet seen. Think about it - did MBIE put these guys in there "under cover". GD said they only started suspecting this "spying" around December - and ran their own traps to find them. Then you see the "whislteblower" term - then you have this letter. As I said, I think there are going to be more shoes to drop here. And none of it looks good for GD.

[Stingray~ 488]

1 minute ago, smackdaddy said:

As I said, I think there are going to be more shoes to drop here. And none of it looks good for GD.

Yes, GD has followed the ‘a good defense is a better offense’ line and has (for now) gotten out in front of the situation by labeling his perceived enemies as ‘spies’ (and who the hell likes ‘spies’ lol) but if MBIE produces (as one guy said they would do) some findings from their investigation then it’ll likely be relatively small potatoes. Disagreements about how many chase boats to buy and run, is an example GD gave in a radio interview today, he wants to spend some of that ‘elsewhere’ instead. 

[waterboy42 8]

7 minutes ago, smackdaddy said:

This is the crux of it. If these "spies" of GD's were actually MBIE there's a lot more going on that we've yet seen. Think about it - did MBIE put these guys in there "under cover". GD said they only started suspecting this "spying" around December - and ran their own traps to find them. Then you see the "whislteblower" term - then you have this letter. As I said, I think there are going to be more shoes to drop here. And none of it looks good for GD.

Who said the "spies" were MBIE appointees... Not likely

[waterboy42 8]

GD was front footing todays sensational press story with a headline of his own (i.e.- Spy story yesterday)

GD says he appointed the whistle-spies. That makes it far more likely to be Indio's stated pair than MBIE appointed auditors

Edited June 30 by waterboy42
Correction

[Stingray~ 488]

13 minutes ago, waterboy42 said:

Who said the "spies" were MBIE appointees... Not likely

An NZ Herald article named the company that MBIE hired to oversee the ACE books. 
 

Because of NZ whistleblower laws to protect them, nobody in NZ will name them but TE did, during his Sailing Illustrated Show today, which he believes from NZ sources are the correct names. Employees of the legal/auditor/accounting outfit working for MBIE.

[Miffy 1,187]

Just let it play out lads. No one is fleeing the country for Monaco at the moment and there’s plenty of attention from the gov to not sweep this under. 
 

Again to reiterate. You can be a whistleblower. You can also be spying for another competitor. The difference is whether you’re reporting the alleged conduct to the proper authorities or random non-gov competitors. It won’t be hard to figure out who is going to be in trouble. 

[Xlot 371]

1 hour ago, Stingray~ said:

X? They seem to be treating it with humor

 

 

“Excusatio non petita, accusatio manifesta” (ask Clean)

Their comment is Kiwis are generally clumsy and out of step when having to deal with Cup politics. But when they get on the water ..

 

FareVela’s take: ETNZ doubt - victims of a scam or improper use of public funds?

[Stingray~ 488]

36 minutes ago, Xlot said:

 

“Excusatio non petita, accusatio manifesta” (ask Clean)

Their comment is Kiwis are generally clumsy and out of step when having to deal with Cup politics. But when they get on the water ..

 

FareVela’s take: ETNZ doubt - victims of a scam or improper use of public funds?

Thnx. No mention of a possible LR/PRADA connection? TE hinted at something in passing but I was distracted when he did and missed the subtlety.

[Stingray~ 488]

The $3M was ‘not a loan’

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12344613

[Hawke 25]

EMIRATES TEAM NEW ZEALAND RESPONDS TO ALLEGATIONS IN THE MBIE AND COUNCIL LETTER OF JUNE 22

Auckland, New Zealand - 1st  July 2020 Whomever has leaked to the NZ Herald the MBIE and Auckland Council letter to ETNZ and ACE has conveniently not provided the reply provided by ETNZ and ACE last week. ETNZ and ACE categorically deny any wrongdoing and consider that they have already addressed the concerns of MBIE and Council, and their advisor Beattie Varley. For clarity, ETNZ and ACE set out below the relevant extracts from ETNZ’s and ACE’s joint letter to MBIE and Council last Friday.   On Health and Safety We have already reiterated our commitment to health and safety. On the issue of the number of on-water safety boats, ACE has for some time had safety concerns about the inappropriate expectations for volunteer marshals to be expected to exercise enforcement duties on the water. In our view, and based on the extensive experience available to us (including the Regatta Director Iain Murray), merely having an increased number of boats staffed by volunteers (without legal enforcement authority) to a number in excess of the established international norm (for instance AC 35 in Bermuda, the benchmark event under the HVA, Host Venue Agreement) does not alleviate this issue. For the last two and a half years the concerns of ACE in relation to the dedicated on-water Police resources has been raised at JCEG meetings but a solution has last week been discussed in principle with the Police Commissioner under which there will be an increased police boat presence from that originally planned. As a result of resolving the Police issue, together with the opportunity to further boost the number of support boats by utilising Coastguard boats with qualified personnel and medics on board) to assist with spectator management, we consider there is now an available solution which should satisfy the Harbourmaster’s requirements. However, ACE is currently awaiting final confirmation of the number of available police boats before presenting this proposed solution to the Harbourmaster. ACE understands there was a regular on-water ops meeting involving the Harbourmaster on Wednesday which has in the past been attended by one of the [informants] on behalf of ACE but which no one attended. We are disappointed not to have been informed about this meeting so we could have had a representative attend. The Harbourmaster’s letter says that ACE is “delaying the commencement of marshal training” and “reassuringly the marshal training programme is due to start shortly”, which gives the impression (we would hope inadvertently) that the programme has not yet commenced, which is totally incorrect. In fact, the RNZYS training programme commenced in October last year and continued for the balance of that year and the first few months of this year until it was suspended at the end of March due to the need to conduct the budget review referred to below in relation to 5.1(b) of your letter and the COVID -9 lockdown at the end of March. This is a comprehensive programme approved by Maritime New Zealand and is more than 50% complete. The programme has now recommenced after the suspension and the RNZYS has reaffirmed at a meeting with the Harbourmaster on Wednesday that it is confident of being able to provide the required number of trained and certified volunteers ahead of the commencement of racing. The significant on-water experience (both as competitors and race organisers) of ETNZ personnel has been utilised in planning on-water operations and the recent initiative regarding the change in composition of on-water boats have resulted from this advice. It is the view of ETNZ and ACE that there is a need to significantly raise the standard of course and spectator control above that of racing in the last Auckland Volvo Ocean Race stopover, organised by the [informants], which was observed to be substandard. The organisation and conduct of the racing and on-water operations will be the responsibility of the independent Regatta Director (in full consultation with the Harbourmaster and NZ Police and, of course, subject to their legal authority). After an initially appointed Regatta Director proved unsatisfactory during the early planning stages, ACE has been fortunate to secure the services of Iain Murray who was the Regatta Director for both AC 34 in San Francisco and AC 35 in Bermuda. Iain is internationally respected as the leading official in the world for this role and is well acquainted with the Waitemata Harbour having frequently raced here as a competitive sailor. In addition, Richard Slater is contracted as the Chief Umpire, a role he undertook in Bermuda working alongside Iain Murray. With these two experienced and independent officials in their respective roles and leading their teams ACE is well placed to deliver a safe and world class event on the water. We consider that your concerns in relation to the delivery of the on-water aspects of the Event are misplaced. Please be specific about what the Hosts’ H&S concerns are in relation to the on-land aspects of the Events so we can also address these concerns.   On the Event Investment Dashboard Prior to May 2020, every Event Investment Dashboard presented to the Event Steering Group was prepared by the [informants] under the direction of the [informant]. Due to a lack of confidence by the Board and the CEO regarding the financial management and budgeting of the [informants], and after Board members raising concerns with the quality and accuracy of financial information they were producing, in March this year the CEO of ACE directed that the ETNZ CFO, Shane McAlister (who joined ETNZ in September 2019), become involved in the financials of ACE and he was tasked with rebuilding the ACE financial budget. It was during this process, when he was asked to send the Event Dashboard to the MBIE auditors, that he discovered it could not be reconciled with ACE’s General Ledger. It became obvious to him that the dashboard had been prepared by the [informants] with hard coding and no reconciliations, and Mr McAlister identified the inaccuracies in the previous Event Investment Dashboards and directed that the dashboard be corrected. He is satisfied that the dashboard for 31 May 2020 now accurately reconciles with ACE’s financial records.   On the $3,000,000 purported loan The $3,000,000 has been shown on each Event Investment Dashboard (Project Management) for more than a year without any previous query from the Hosts, even though those Dashboards have been presented at and discussed at each ESG Meeting. There has been no attempt to conceal this aspect. Rather it has been clear and known to MBIE, Council and the [informants] the whole time. The [informants] have previously been very clear with ACE that they considered it legitimate and provided examples such as F1 racing where the same approach has been taking on common design elements. It is a valid charge in relation to the management and delivery of the Events for the significant time spent by ETNZ team members for Event related matters. When analysed, that time is in fact in excess of NZ$6 million but has not been fully charged (and will not be fully charged) in order not to have a detrimental effect on ACE’s budget. Further details of the time spent by ETNZ team members on Event related matters will be provided in due course. It is acknowledged that the $3,000,000 was assessed for work after the work was completed. But it had never been classified as a “loan”, and we would appreciate being provided with any documentation you hold from the Whistleblower or the [informants] that categorises it as a loan. The money in question was actually paid directly by MBIE to ETNZ, and never even flowed through ACE’s bank account. We believe that the reference to a “loan” that has been raised is a reference to a totally unrelated discussion between [name redacted] and [name redacted], where the prospect of an inter-company loan from ACE to ETNZ to alleviate cashflow was raised by [name redacted]. However, that proposal never came to anything, as it was not needed and was never implemented. If you have documentation or evidence to the contrary, we would be grateful if you would provide that to us. In short, this loan discussion is unrelated to the ETNZ charges for the Event work done by its staff on the creation of the concept and design for the new class of the yacht to be used in the Events (a radical new foiling monohull concept) and the Class Rule itself. The payment in this regard is permitted by clause 6 of the HVA, and we would appreciate your clarification on Monday as to whether you disagree with that position and why, or whether your concern is to substantiate the accuracy of the $3,000,000 amount.   On the Hungarian Bank Account Fraud The email scam which resulted in the payment to a fraudulent Hungarian bank account was immediately disclosed by [name redacted] to MBIE ([name redacted]) after its discovery and an assurance was given that ACE still had sufficient funds for the delivery of the Events, and that it would not be seeking any further financial assistance from the Hosts. The scammed funds simply needed to be replaced by other revenue at ACE. The fraud/theft was reported to the NZ Police who alerted the relevant international authorities with all appropriate steps being instigated through Kiwibank and Bell Gully, solicitors, to attempt to recover the funds. The email scam is addressed further below.   On the Lack of Record keeping and unwillingness to provide information. A wealth of information has been provided to Beattie Varley, at times under difficult circumstances due to the COVID 19 lockdown. Much of the information now being requested involves confidential contracts and material which should be reviewed on site at our base.   On any breach of the HVA We have fully disclosed the nature of our operation and how we operate dynamically to Beattie Varley. We are not like a standard corporate, and the nature of our operations means that we need at times to remain flexible and to adjust quickly to sometimes quickly changing circumstances. We do not accept that the matters raised in the Beattie Varley Report are individually or cumulatively material adverse events in relation to the management and delivery of the Events. However, as advised, we remain willing to continue to cooperate with Beattie Varley and to answer their queries, and to work with MBIE to reach a solution to deal with the concerns expressed (including through this letter).   Our concluding comments to MBIE and Council In summary, when the full circumstances are understood we believe that the concerns of the Hosts can be satisfied and ACE/ETNZ are not in breach of their obligations under the Host Venue Agreement.

[Hawke 25]

1 hour ago, smackdaddy said:

This is the crux of it. If these "spies" of GD's were actually MBIE there's a lot more going on that we've yet seen. Think about it - did MBIE put these guys in there "under cover". GD said they only started suspecting this "spying" around December - and ran their own traps to find them. Then you see the "whislteblower" term - then you have this letter. As I said, I think there are going to be more shoes to drop here. And none of it looks good for GD.

Smackdaddy from what I've read of your posts you have brought into this hook line and sinker.  The majority of us in New Zealand don't believe anything our mainstream media reports especially the New Zealand Herald.

[The_Alchemist 440]

14 hours ago, WakaNZ said:

B1    Te Aihe 

B.5   Te Kahu

B2.   Te ????

 

 

I am going with Te He....

[Varan 819]

Or te stick

[Stingray~ 488]

40 minutes ago, Hawke said:

The scammed funds simply needed to be replaced by other revenue at ACE.

Good material.

But on this snipped part, just for fun:

the money was sent to Hungary....

https://www.sailweb.co.uk/2020/06/30/americas-cup-team-defrauded-by-scammers/

Did LE ever have money problems?  I saw him one evening at an AC event in San Diego with two young Eastern European ladies (twins, it appeared) he’d flown down with for the eve, on a private jet, on short notice about if they would even show up that eve or not, with Guns and Roses (was it?) already there in case he did. $3M was the very last thing on his mind. 

[Stingray~ 488]

???

The Herald reports the Crown has made a thinly-veiled threat to withhold the next tranche of taxpayer funding, revealed in a confidential letter.

https://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=314318

[kenergy 283]

"The Herald reports" ....

Unfortunately the Herald seems to be as reliable as my mates uncle's workmate who heard something down the pub. 

[smackdaddy 238]

40 minutes ago, Hawke said:

Smackdaddy from what I've read of your posts...

Piss off newb.

[Stingray~ 488]

https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2020/07/america-s-cup-2021-team-new-zealand-investigated-over-public-money-in-hungarian-bank-account-report.html

Serious allegations of fraud at Team New Zealand have emerged, with claims public money was mishandled.

Auckland Council and the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) are alleging a $3 million loan given to Team New Zealand has been reclassified and linked to a Hungarian bank account, according to a letter seen by NZME.

[WakaNZ 37]

6 hours ago, Stingray~ said:

more

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/americas-cup/news/article.cfm?c_id=531&objectid=12344408&ref=rss

Just got sent some more intel... seems M&C may not to be sleeping well at night...
 

[smackdaddy 238]

Quote

The email scam which resulted in the payment to a fraudulent Hungarian bank account was...

...as we now know in retrospect, the oldest scam on the internet. However, because the Prince who sent that email was from Hungary - and not Nigeria - we had full confidence that it was a legitimate offer. The terms were very satisfactory to our Board and CEO, who signed the approval for a payment of $1M to the sender, Prince Álmos; to be wired to his anonymous bank account. Prince Álmos assured us, many times, that this "fee" was necessary to release the $250M that the Hungarian Government had set aside for the AC36 event - out of the monarchy's love for the Cup based on Hungary's long and storied maritime history. Obviously, this transaction would have immediately reimbursed the NZ Government for its huge financial losses on this event. So there was little to discuss. It was seen as a great deal for all involved. ETNZ had finally found its secondary sponsor, and we were already planning clever, free-to-air cross-promotions between McDonalds and Hungary. Everyone was lovin' it.. However, after not hearing back from Prince Álmos for several months post-payment, we began to grow suspicious that there were spies everywhere. So we started blaming the accountants and whistling loudly, hoping no one would notice.

It's quite okay, though. Not to worry. We'll simply replace this loss with all the money we will be losing on the event itself. Nothing to see here. Hey, look, the majestic Te Aihe is on (oops under) the water! PetieB has a new mansion! For ourselves! And all that....

[Stingray~ 488]

24 minutes ago, smackdaddy said:

...as we now know in retrospect, the oldest scam on the internet.

I wonder what the invoice was supposedly to pay for? Wierd.

[Stingray~ 488]

32 minutes ago, WakaNZ said:

Just got sent some more intel... seems M&C may not to be sleeping well at night...
 

???

[MR.CLEAN 2,956]

that's funny smack.  finally something.  those online comedy classes are paying off.

[smackdaddy 238]

13 minutes ago, Stingray~ said:

I wonder what the invoice was supposedly to pay for? Wierd.

Whatever it was, GD said he signed it without looking at all the "noughts and ones on the bank account" - whatever that means. Sounds very fiduciary. Top-notch management.

[desprit 18]

One has to wonder whether or not M&C are on the same payroll as Smackdaddy. 

[Stingray~ 488]

27 minutes ago, smackdaddy said:

Whatever it was, GD said he signed it without looking at all the "noughts and ones on the bank account" - whatever that means. Sounds very fiduciary. Top-notch management.

To give him credit, perhaps he thought the account had been vetted before it came across his desk? 
 

The concern for MBIE and their possible disagreement with ETNZ (Dalton) appears to be mostly about ‘how’ the taxpayer money is being spent, including maybe ETNZ salaries draining from ACE money instead of from ETNZ funds. One article suggested that ETNZ Designer salaries were being paid out of MBIE funds, even with an excuse for it having been done ‘in the event’s better interests’ or somesuch? 
 

There’s also a chance that ACE funds are in trouble.  NZ and Auckland committed a lot but it was up to ETNZ to raise the rest of the event’s sponsorship, maybe PRADA has not come through as big as had been predicted? 

[Sailbydate 1,549]

This is getting very old, very quickly. 

[chesirecat 228]

1 hour ago, Stingray~ said:

I wonder what the invoice was supposedly to pay for? Wierd.

Foils would fit the bill.

[NSP 58]

1 hour ago, Stingray~ said:

I wonder what the invoice was supposedly to pay for? Wierd.

Obviously GD's nanny 

[Hawke 25]

1 hour ago, smackdaddy said:

Whatever it was, GD said he signed it without looking at all the "noughts and ones on the bank account" - whatever that means. Sounds very fiduciary. Top-notch management.

I gather you are new to financial management?  I would assume that it went through other checks and balances before it got to Dalton.  That's where the finger will finally point - down the food chain where coincidentally the spies/informants were actually working.

PS:  I may be new to posting on this forum (I have read it for years) but judging from your posts my knowledge and experience of sailing is light years ahead of yours.

[RantyDave 4]

3 hours ago, Hawke said:

The scammed funds simply needed to be replaced by other revenue at ACE.

Officially now sick of Grant Dalton. The funds "simply" need replacing with another million bucks or however much it was. Fuck off, seriously.

There's something that smells like bullshit coming off this whole thing. For one, doesn't their bank need more than one person to sign off on a transfer? Secondly, if someone screws up - even really really badly - you basically can't fire them under New Zealand law. Last but not least, "financial mismanagement" is exactly what this is.

It's in March. There's a very real danger we won't even be letting people in by then. This is going to be a fucking disaster. Shiiiiiit.

[Tornado-Cat 693]

We don't know much about this story but it smells like a star designer or sailor asked to be paid in a fiscal paradise through Hungrary.

GD had to accept, probably a small amount of a few hundred thousands, which is nothing in any private organization but is more problematic with public money and a public thinking they are the virgin Mary. Jim Ratcliffe must be laughing his ass off.

Anyway, whatever it is, it's not the best ingredient for team spirit, mainly when we get to know the beneficiary.

[Priscilla 1,178]

Grants a bean counter and looking at the exchange rate our missing $3million Kiwi roubles are now worth $611 million Forint so all good.

 

[Hawke 25]

2 minutes ago, RantyDave said:

Secondly, if someone screws up - even really really badly - you basically can't fire them under New Zealand law.

Wrong.  If they are contractors they don't have the same rights as permanent employees under New Zealand Employment law.  The contracts that are in place are well in favour of the employer not the employee especially when we are talking short term event based employment.  Basically the employees could be marched in minutes.  However what the NZ media is doing with their hamfisted investigative (not) journalism is confusing the picture.  Are the contractors ETNZ or ACE employees?  If the latter then there would have been more people involved in their firing than just Dalton.

7 minutes ago, RantyDave said:

It's in March. There's a very real danger we won't even be letting people in by then. This is going to be a fucking disaster. Shiiiiiit.

If we are not letting people into NZ by October then the country is in the shit and we can forget about any sporting events.  I for one am confident as I haven't bought into Adern's fear factor contest.

[phill_nz 469]

17 minutes ago, Hawke said:

judging from your posts my knowledge and experience of sailing is light years ahead of yours.

c'mon

no shooting fish in a barrel here please

[Priscilla 1,178]

All a bit sloppy Minister not able to explain how much has been spent to date on AC36.

At least his incompetence is consistent as Minister of Housing he was incapable of delivering any of the 100,000 homes he promised and was charged to deliver.

No freeze on public money to Team NZ or America's Cup despite claims of improper spending 
https://nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12344701

[fish7yu 10]

2 hours ago, Stingray~ said:

I wonder what the invoice was supposedly to pay for? Wierd.

 

America's Cup fraud allegations: NZ, Hungarian police investigating alleged scam

A payment from ACE to a Hungarian bank account has been described by Dalton as a "100 per cent external scam" which it reported to MBIE and the police as soon as it emerged.

Dalton said a hacker, believed to be in Europe, gained access to material belonging to a European-based television contractor, including details of contracts and when payments were due to be made.

The team received an email believed to be from the contractor just ahead of a scheduled payment, advising of a new – Hungarian – bank account to which the payment should be made.

A seven-figure sum was paid in accordance with the contract and the alarm was raised only some weeks later when the contractor inquired about a missing payment.

Dalton said it transpired the hacker had altered one character in the contractor's email address, which advised of the changed account.

Only a portion of the payment had been recovered following police investigations in New Zealand and Europe.

[Miffy 1,187]

1 hour ago, Hawke said:

I for one am confident as I haven't bought into Adern's fear factor contest.

I don’t want to get into a debate re NZ politics. But... let me assure you. 
 

covid19 is hell. We’ve been in the thick of it since March. Our situation is getting worse. 
 

Please, and I can’t overstate it. Enjoy being able to go out and eat in a bar or not have to worry whether this is the week your clinical provider partner is going to catch it and whether she (with asthma) can survive. 

[Hawke 25]

2 minutes ago, Miffy said:

covid19 is hell. We’ve been in the thick of it since March. Our situation is getting worse. 

What situation?  The facts are that although those infected is arising the mortality rate of those infected is declining.  Yes even in the USA.

 

[thetruth 51]

2 minutes ago, Hawke said:

What situation?  The facts are that although those infected is arising the mortality rate of those infected is declining.  Yes even in the USA.

 

Thanks Don

[Miffy 1,187]

6 minutes ago, Hawke said:

What situation?  The facts are that although those infected is arising the mortality rate of those infected is declining.  Yes even in the USA.

 

Rate is not a good indicator because 1) testing sets the denominator and the clinical and political system re who gets tested has been controversial. 2) even those who survive, many have lingering health challenges that we don’t know much about at the moment. Someone can survive one round. Lose immunity in 8 months and die in the second. Or after then catching the flu. 
 

we just don’t know what we don’t know. I don’t want to mess up this thread. There’s another forum for that. But take care and enjoy the gift you’ve been given and what many have sacrificed to maintain. 

[Hawke 25]

3 minutes ago, thetruth said:

Thanks Don

I assure you I am not a Trump supporter.  He is an idiot.  But explain this the rest of the world is opening their borders and still have community transmission.  Why?  Two reasons - the increase in new cases is not having an impact on health services nor causing more deaths; Secondly the economic cost and the consequences is starting to far outweigh the health cost.

 

[SPEARO 49]

back to the actual sailing - I watched ETNZ's AC75 sail a simulated race on the inner course this afternoon in 10kn SW breeze. Simulated pre start entry and a couple of laps, using Orakei bouy as the windward mark. I took a 3min video showing last two tacks into the top mark, the rounding (including flying through a fleet of 29ers at the top mark) and first gybe downwind (iPhone camera so no point as they got further away).

Any idea how to compress the video from iPhone and load here (seems max 10mb)? I cut in half but still too big.

They looked super stable in pretty light breeze, suprisingly big tacking angles though to stay foiling. Were doing dry laps.

[chesirecat 228]

"A seven-figure sum was paid in accordance with the contract and the alarm was raised only some weeks later when the contractor inquired about a missing payment."

"some weeks"  ?????

 

[kenergy 283]

23 minutes ago, Hawke said:

I assure you I am not a Trump supporter.  He is an idiot.  But explain this the rest of the world is opening their borders and still have community transmission.  Why?  Two reasons - the increase in new cases is not having an impact on health services nor causing more deaths; Secondly the economic cost and the consequences is starting to far outweigh the health cost.

 

Theres a whole thread to discuss this. 

But it is WAY too early to be making these grand statements, we can talk again in a month.

[maxmini 43]

29 minutes ago, Hawke said:

I assure you I am not a Trump supporter.  He is an idiot.  But explain this the rest of the world is opening their borders and still have community transmission.  Why?  Two reasons - the increase in new cases is not having an impact on health services nor causing more deaths; Secondly the economic cost and the consequences is starting to far outweigh the health cost.

 

Europe and Canada are preparing to bar any entry from the USA .  The percentage of those that die once they have become infected is now up to 5% and climbing . This info is 2 days old .

[mikenz2 133]

The team must have used all the daylight today. Shore crew packing up in the dark.

[fish7yu 10]

37 minutes ago, SPEARO said:

back to the actual sailing - I watched ETNZ's AC75 sail a simulated race on the inner course this afternoon in 10kn SW breeze. Simulated pre start entry and a couple of laps, using Orakei bouy as the windward mark. I took a 3min video showing last two tacks into the top mark, the rounding (including flying through a fleet of 29ers at the top mark) and first gybe downwind (iPhone camera so no point as they got further away).

Any idea how to compress the video from iPhone and load here (seems max 10mb)? I cut in half but still too big.

They looked super stable in pretty light breeze, suprisingly big tacking angles though to stay foiling. Were doing dry laps.

 

May be upload the video onto YouTube? then provide the YouTube link here.

[astro 281]

3 hours ago, MR.CLEAN said:

that's funny smack.  finally something.  those online comedy classes are paying off.

You read it ... why?

[SPEARO 49]

1 hour ago, SPEARO said:

back to the actual sailing - I watched ETNZ's AC75 sail a simulated race on the inner course this afternoon in 10kn SW breeze. Simulated pre start entry and a couple of laps, using Orakei bouy as the windward mark. I took a 3min video showing last two tacks into the top mark, the rounding (including flying through a fleet of 29ers at the top mark) and first gybe downwind (iPhone camera so no point as they got further away).

Any idea how to compress the video from iPhone and load here (seems max 10mb)? I cut in half but still too big.

They looked super stable in pretty light breeze, suprisingly big tacking angles though to stay foiling. Were doing dry laps.

Rubbish quality due to iPhone to Youtube, and to not give the spies any details. But gives a pretty good idea of racing geometry from almost an upwind position relative to the 'course' 

[Teaky 48]

They must be quite confident in the controls to rinse about in a fleet of 9ers like that.  Perhaps the pre-starts will be interesting after all.

[JALhazmat 290]

Unsubstantiated money/funding chat about INEOS

ETNZ... hold my beer. 
 

 

[Forourselves 344]

This whole thing is getting more comical by the day! So ETNZ/ ACE owed money to these contractors, but then got scammed and transferred the money to a fraudulent Hungarian Bank account. The contractors then, after not receiving their money decided to try and defame Dalton and ETNZ by leakING sensitive financial And structural information to Europe? Which then got sent straight back to Dalton Who then fired them? Seems like these guys are very amateur whistleblowers. They couldn’t read the situation and instead of gaining leverage, they just got fired. They sure as hell aren’t getting their jobs back, as they’ve leaked confidential sensitive financial information. Why didn’t they leak it to the the National Party? This would’ve been front page headlines! National would’ve had a field day after the border debacle! Amateurs smh

[thetruth 51]

I used to get involved in all of this and the reason I got involved again was the fact that Franklyspeaking (cool name bro just another way of telling the truth) left the clue to all of this and no one ran with it. Same old shit with the same dumb arse people.................