An Auckland loan shark who targeted New Zealand casino gamblers has been fined and banned from lending.

Yuan Rong Yang, former owner of Sunway Finance Limited and money lender to Auckland’s Chinese community and gamblers at SkyCity Auckland casino, has been fined $22,500 and banned from lending indefinitely by Auckland District Court.

Yang pleaded guilty to two charges brought by the Commerce Commission under the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 (CCCFA) for not providing key information to his customers about their loans. In addition to his fine and ban, he has been ordered to pay $3000 to the complainant in this case and six other existing loan contracts have been voided.

“Mr. Yang operated his business without disclosing any basic information to borrowers, including his method for charging interest, the credit fees and charges, the amount of each repayment and total number of payments required. The law requires lenders to disclose this information, and more, to ensure that borrowers can properly understand the obligations they are committing to when taking out a loan,” said Commissioner Anna Rawlings.