Corporates

Liquidator registers interest for fees on PPSR – briefly

Jirsch Sutherland’s Malcolm Howell. While nobody’s giving much away it would seem that the liquidation of AFX Group Proprietary Limited is quite the cluster___. “Messy” was how one insider described the related party-laden morass to iNO yesterday and no doubt Jirsch Sutherland partner Malcolm Howell, who is owed more than a quarter of a million in fees, would agree. As iNO previously reported Howell was…


Weston V Cathro over 2nd bite of South Pelagic

DW Advisory’s Paul Weston. Worrells partner Simon Cathro. DW Advisory’s Paul Weston is demonstrating an optimistic streak of generous width, putting his hand up to replace the man who replaced him little more six months ago. Weston, who did not respond to inquiries prior to iNO’s deadline, has been given the chance to takeover as liquidator of South Pelagic Holdings Pty Ltd. That opportunity has…


Sargon receivers embroiled in Federal Court disputes

McGrathNicol’s Shaun Fraser. The receivers of various Sargon Group entities and their appointors are allegedly “embroiled” in two disputes in the Federal Court”, a court heard this week. The claim was made on Monday in the NSW Supreme Court by lawyers for one set of receivers – PwC’s Chris Hill and Dan Walley – in their capacity as receivers of SC Australian Holdings 1 Pty…


Fly365 “flush with cash” before liquidator appointed

Aston Chace’s Ian Niccol. Aston Chace’s Vincent Pirina. A court has heard that the coffers of failed online travel agency Fly365 were “flush with cash” only days before the company was placed into liquidation, plunging the travel plans of thousands into chaos and leaving creditors chasing up to $30 million in debts. The revelations emerged during an ex-parte application in the Federal Court yesterday brought…


Ex-parte application incensed AXF creditors

Last week iNO reported on the recent ousting of Jirsch Sutherland partner Malcolm Howell as liquidator of AXF Group. New information subsequently to hand sheds further light on how this potentially lucrative appointment was lost, and how Howell’s replacements, Matt Byrnes and Phil Campbell-Wilson of Grant Thornton, might avoid the same fate. In a letter to Howell’s lawyers, Landers & Rogers, dated May 11, the…


Receiver resists inquiry into asset sale to appointor

Worrels Partner Simon Cathro. Hell hath no fury like a debtor who sees their assets sold at what they believe is significant undervalue – just ask Worrells partner Simon Cathro who is seeking to have dismissed an application for an inquiry into his conduct as receiver of International Business Corporation (IBC). IBC’s secured lender FC Securities appointed Cathro receiver of IBC and some related entities…


AFP arrests uncover a most helpful director

The AFP arrests this week in respect of yet another Plutus Payroll-style tax evasion scheme prompted iNO to consider, not for the first time, what aspects if any of these recurring scams are facilitated by complicit insolvency practitioners, a negligent regulator or a combination of both. Looking at the names of those arrested, it wasn’t long before our investigations led us instead to a particular…


VAs vying for Pages’ contents

KPMG’s Peter Gothard. KPMG’s Robyn Duggan. The shareholders of the Pages events group may have been throttling each other through the courts for four strangulated years but as far as iNO is concerned things became interesting only this month. In less than three weeks an entity in the group has had administrators appointed, administrators replaced and if the Gods of case law so will it,…


BRI Ferrier – partners at odds over departure

BRI Ferrier’s Peter Krejci. BRI Ferrier’s Brian Silvia. One thing you can say about veteran insolvency practitioner and BRI Ferrier NSW partner Brian Silvia is that he’s not the type to go quietly, which is probably why the sound of equity holders’ heads butting has reached iNO’s ear, all the way from BRI’s offices atop Australia Square. iNO’s intelligence network has learned that Silvia and…


Cor Cordis boss to pay Last Lap costs personally

Cor Cordis Melbourne partner Bruno Secatore. The 28 plus year long liquidation of Last Lap Pty Ltd makes one wonder just how many insolvency practitioners will get to take a lap around this seemingly eternal liquidation, but for the moment we’ll focus on the incumbent, Bruno Secatore. Last week the Federal Court handed down its decision in Secatore, in the matter of Last Lap Pty…