 The principal was Max Raepple a "self-styled German financier" with a friend Michael Gisondi.Raepple had arrived in New Zealand in January, and on 21 January Lange took a swipe at "some of the Māori whingers and activists (with) something of a cargo cult mentality which is an utter betrayal of what Māori enterprise is about" and "self-appointed activists in international finance ranging from undischarged bankrupts to lapsed priests and all sorts of people who accept the bona fides of (Raepelle) who will not allow his credentials to even be read by a newspaper".Bassett commented that "the likes of Eva Rickard, Sonny Waru, Ken Mair and Eru Potaka Dewes who were strutting about, knew little about business".