A new spat has arisen between Allan Crafar and the receivers for his dairy empire – this time over ownership of millions of dollars of Fonterra shares.

Mr Crafar, his wife Beth and brother Frank, have more than one million shares in the co-operative, which are believed to be owned by the family.

KordaMentha is taking legal action, saying the shares should belong to the family-owned companies, which are in receivership.

Mr Crafar, true to form, isn’t taking the move lying down.

“They’re in our name, what else can you do, why is there any argument?

"If they say we should have signed them over to the company, well that’s tough s***. It’s too late now and it’s not gonna happen.

"We’re gonna keep them, and the farm so it’s all irrelevant as far as I can see.”