Conduct

Settlement of contempt by SPL no barrier to courts

Kroll special advisor Steve Parbery. You couldn’t make it up. A mining magnate’s nephew on the run in Eastern Europe, in contempt of court for failing to show for public examination by a special purpose liquidator (SPL), the SPL settling the contempt case; and the courts then stepping in to pursue it. ” … on about 6 June 2016, Mr Mensink departed Australia for a…


Liquidator case unchanged as directors charged

Worrells partner Jason Bettles. Editor’s Note: On Friday, August 18, 2023 Justice Brigitte Markovic of the Federal Court of Australia dismissed ASIC’s case against liquidator Jason Bettles and ordered the regulator to pay Bettles’ costs. The corporate regulator confirmed this week that its case against Worrells partner Jason Bettles remains unchanged and on foot in the wake of criminal charges being filed in the Brisbane…


Unremedied anomaly elicits official caution

BPS Recovery’s Dave Sampson. AFSA has issued an official caution to a Sydney-based bankruptcy trustee following investigation of a meeting convened under 75-175(2)(b) of the Bankruptcy Rules to consider a Section 73 compromise proposed by pornographer Damien Costas. “This legislation applies to general meetings and not meetings held for the purposes of creditors to consider a section 73 proposal (composition or arrangement).” Scott Reid, senior…


Plutus liquidators’ suppression bid unravels

Deloitte’s Sal Algeri. Deloitte’s Tim Norman. “At the moment it seems to me that this application has descended into chaos” the judge said, and at that point the inexpertly tailored bid for suppression orders in the matter of Plutus Payroll came apart like a cheap suit. It was yesterday morning in the court of Justice Ashley Black, and an application was being brought by lawyers…


Compliance boffins discover unregulated microcosm

ASIC chairman Joe Longo. One should never under-estimate ASIC for making much of little, particularly in regards to the imposition of compliance where experienced professionals were previously free to call the shots without reference to rules conceived by inexperienced bureaucrats. So it was that iNO could not but be amused when browsing ASIC’s latest manifesto of intent to see that among the various new ideas…


Pornographer’s trustee cops AFSA complaint

BPS Recovery’s Dave Sampson. Jones Partners’ Michael Jones. 04/08/2021: The creditor who spent big bankrupting pornographer Damien Costas has lodged a complaint with AFSA about Costa’s trustee and wants the regulator to set aside the vote of a creditors meeting that saw Costas’ bankruptcy annulled. Print company executive Anthony Karam, whose TMA Group had a claim against Costas for more than $170,000, filed the complaint…


Trustee cops criticism but avoids suspension

Daniel Moore – BCR Advisory (Qld). Earlier this month a committee convened to determine what if any penalty should be meted out to bankruptcy trustee Daniel Moore arrived at its verdict and, appropriately, the reasons for that determination have been made public. Whilst the amiable Queenslander has been shackled with a number of restrictions, he hasn’t been stripped of his trustee’s registration. Nor has it…


Litany of woe from liquidator who stole

Amanda Young conceals her face as she leaves court. A harrowing portrait of a problem-plagued life made worse by alleged workplace bullying and harassment unfolded yesterday as ex-liquidator Amanda Young testified ahead of her sentencing on charges of stealing tens of thousands of dollars while employed as a salaried partner at the Sydney office of insolvency firm Jirsch Sutherland. Young, who in February pleaded guilty…


Beware the expression of opinions in affidavits

Pitcher Partners’ Andrew Yeo. Andrew Yeo has copped some judicial stick for opinions expressed in an affidavit the Pitcher Partners’ rain maker filed in defence of proceedings brought by Norm Carey, founder of the long since collapsed Westpoint Property Group. In a recent judgment WA Supreme Court Master Craig Sanderson said that Yeo should have kept his views on the legitimacy of Carey’s action to…


Win for Bettles pyrrhic if ASIC prevails

Worrells partner Jason Bettles. Editor’s Note: On Friday, August 18, 2023 Justice Brigitte Markovic of the Federal Court of Australia dismissed ASIC’s case against liquidator Jason Bettles and ordered the regulator to pay Bettles’ costs. Worrells’ Jason Bettles has had another win in his ongoing fight with ASIC, which throws money at poorly articulated misconduct cases knowing the costs of setbacks are recoverable via Industry…