Commerce Commission files charges against Ilaisaane Malupo of Nane Loans and alleges illegal lending targeting Tongan community
An Auckland woman accused of acting as an illegal lender and alleged to have targeted the Tongan community with 15% weekly interest rates is facing court action.
The Commerce Commission filed charges in the Auckland District Court against Ilaisaane Malupo, who traded under the name Nane Easy Loan Finance
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
13 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Veteran project manager keen to help
The project manager who helped lead award-winning projects such as the digitalization of New Zealand's arrival cards has swapped Wellington for the much quieter Cromwell and hopes to bring her skills to the district. Pip Rudhall Hyett runs her own project management company, with her niche being leading projects in a people-first manner. A lot of project managers were hard taskmasters, where just getting things done was the focus, she said. Where she differs in her approach was focusing on making relationships and leading projects with a emphasis on people. Mrs Rudhall Hyett originally started off as a operations manager before moving to become a project co-ordinator. It was as a project co-ordinator where she found that she was good at the people side of the job, which involved talking and getting other people to talk with one another. With lots of encouragement from others, she decided to take up project management six years ago. She has worked on various government projects, which included the digitalization of the New Zealand arrival card and for the Commerce Commission. The arrival card project was a massive programme which involved more than 150 people working together, spread out over four different agencies, with three different teams in each agency she said. "So different legal people, different policies, different law and aligning all of that to the technology that we were building, which is now in your phone, for when you arrive in New Zealand. "Very complex, lots of different objectives, and people that ... weren't used to working together," she said. Mrs Rudhall Hyett led the policy, legal and privacy work streams. The arrival card project went on to win two major national awards, the project of the year and technology project of the year at the 2025 Project Management Institute Awards. The work was satisfying as she would help groups navigate through issues, show them how it can be done and then get them talking and trusting one another, she said. Mrs Rudhall Hyett would then begin to step back little by little and see the relationships continue. "It's quite emotional to actually leave them, if I'm honest. But that's the whole plan, is to leave them in a better place than when I started, I love what I do, I love the success of delivering a project." The move to Cromwell was inspired in part by the fact that she and her family had already been vacationing there for 20 years. Now after living in the region for six months full-time, she hoped to apply her experience to regional projects. The more complex projects were the ones that Mrs Rudhall Hyett liked the most "I'm always looking for a good challenge ... I like to kind of keep stretching my brain" While she liked to work larger more complex projects, now, she was hoping to take on some smaller projects to help understand the Central Otago market better and to see what was actually needed in the region. "You've got some pretty amazing organisations here, lots of amazing small businesses, some really large businesses as well, but also those organisations that need help you know, they're struggling to get people to talk to each other or they've got so many different stakeholders that they don't know where to start," she said. Mrs Rudhall Hyett said the thing she enjoyed about her job the most was the people. "It is the people. It's the people that keep me coming back to do a project every day."
Scoop
a day ago
- Scoop
ComCom Prosecutes Unregistered Lender Who Targeted Vulnerable Consumers
Press Release – Commerce Commission The Commission has prioritised enforcement action against lenders who have not met their obligations under the CCCFA. The Commission is particularly focussed on lenders who provide credit to vulnerable consumers in New Zealand. The Commerce Commission has filed criminal charges in the Auckland District Court against an unregistered and uncertified lender, Ilaisaane Malupo, trading as Nane Easy Loan Finance Services NZ (Nane Loans). The Commission alleges Ms Malupo provided personal loans illegally to members of the Tongan community in South Auckland from March 2024. Associate Commissioner Joseph Liava'a says when lenders are identified operating outside of the law, the Commission will act swiftly to shutdown these operations to ensure that consumers are protected when borrowing money or buying goods on credit. Under the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act and the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act (CCCFA), all lenders must be registered and certified in order to provide consumer credit. 'Often these kinds of lenders are a last resort for people who are struggling to borrow from reputable lenders. Many people who borrowed from Ms Malupo were already under financial pressure and on low incomes, so irresponsible lending could have had a big impact on borrowers and their families,' Mr Liava'a says. 'Some of the borrowers indicated they needed to borrow money to buy food or pay off other loans,' Mr Liava'a says. Alongside the lack of certification, the Commission alleges Ms Malupo's terms included high interest rates of up to 15 per cent charged on a weekly basis, which would double if borrowers failed to repay the loans within 28 days; and late payment fees of up to $10 per day. 'In order to keep up with payments some borrowers resorted to selling their sentimental possessions or missing rent payments,' Mr Liava'a says. Ms Malupo operated her business on social media and in some cases threatened that borrowers who failed to repay their debt would be 'named and shamed' on Facebook or other Tongan media sites until repayment was made. 'Public shaming is never ok and could put borrowers in a vulnerable position to avoid being called out for their friends and family to see,' Mr Liava'a says. The Commission has prioritised enforcement action against lenders who have not met their obligations under the CCCFA. The Commission is particularly focussed on lenders who provide credit to vulnerable consumers in New Zealand. Background The Commission launched an investigation into Ilaisaane Malupo after receiving enquiries, including from a financial mentor about Ms Malupo's lending practices which were causing harm to borrowers. Whilst the Commission is continuing its investigation into further breaches of the CCCFA which are likely to have occurred, the Commission's immediate priority was to stop Ms Malupo from entering new loans or enforcing any existing loans. Ms Malupo has been charged (4 June 2025) with: Criminal charges under section 11 of the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008 for providing a financial service without being registered, the penalty of which is 12 months' imprisonment or a fine not exceeding $100,000; and Criminal charges under section 103(2) of the Commerce Act 1986 for attempting to deceive or knowingly mislead the Commission on any matter before it, the penalty of which is a fine not exceeding $100,000. All lenders must be certified under Part 5A of the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 by the Commerce Commission. To gain certification, lenders must satisfy the Commission that those operating the business are financially sound, honest, reputable, reliable and competent to do the job.
1News
a day ago
- 1News
Auckland lender charged for allegedly providing illegal personal loans
An unregistered and uncertified lender has been charged after allegedly providing personal loans illegally to members of the Tongan community in South Auckland. Ilaisaane Malupo, trading as Nane Easy Loan Finance Services NZ (Nane Loans), provided loans to borrowers in South Auckland from March 2024. An investigation was launched by the commission after receiving inquiries, including from a financial mentor, about Malupo's lending practices which were allegedly causing harm to borrowers. The Commerce Commission alleges Malupo's terms including high interest rates of up to 15% charged on a weekly basis, which would double if borrowers failed to repay the loans within 28 days; and late payment fees of up to $10 per day. All lenders must be registered and certified to provide consumer credit. ADVERTISEMENT 'Often these kinds of lenders are a last resort for people who are struggling to borrow from reputable lenders," Associate Commissioner Joseph Liava'a said. "Many people who borrowed from Ms Malupo were already under financial pressure and on low incomes, so irresponsible lending could have had a big impact on borrowers and their families. 'Some of the borrowers indicated they needed to borrow money to buy food or pay off other loans.' Liava'a said some borrowers 'resorted to selling their sentimental possessions or missing rent payments' to pay off the loans. In some cases, the commission alleged Malupo – who operated her business on social media – threatened to 'name and shame' borrowers who failed to repay their debt on Facebook or Tongan media sites until repayment was made. 'Public shaming is never OK and could put borrowers in a vulnerable position to avoid being called out for their friends and family to see,' Liava'a said. The commission has filed criminal charges in the Auckland District Court. ADVERTISEMENT She has been charged with providing a financial service without being registered and for attempting to deceive or knowingly mislead the Commission on any matter before it.
