Forum Finance director Vincenzo Tesoriero wants to strike out Westpac’s claims against him and has told a court he too is a victim of alleged fraudster Bill Papas, having sunk up to $9 million in the company.
Logistics company GetSwift says it is considering an appeal of an 859-page judgment which lambasted the company and its directors’ “public relations-driven approach” to announcements on the Australian Stock Exchange.
The court has given the green light to an amended defamation defence by Clive Palmer which accuses Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan of “disgraceful and dishonourable conduct” and abusing his position by hastily and secretly enacting legislation that barred the billionaire mining magnate from suing the state for $30 billion.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has scored a victory in its long-running case against GetSwift, with the Federal Court finding the company and its directors breached the Corporations Act and ASIC Act through their “public relations-driven approach” to announcements on the Australian Stock Exchange.
A Canberra property developer that misled investors about GST on its apartments does not have to pay compensation to the lead applicant in a class action against it, an appeal court has found.
The Federal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Forum Finance founder Bill Papas for contempt of court for allegedly transferring $720,000 out of one of his companies in breach of a freezing order.
A judge has criticised a proposed settlement notice in a shareholder class action against GetSwift for failing to inform group members of how much they would receive from the “very light” settlement, which relies heavily on the logistics firm’s success after relocating out of Australia.
Westpac will serve court documents, including a motion for contempt, on Forum founder Bill Papas by text message after securing a Greek mobile number for the absent accused fraudster, as the judge overseeing the bank’s case pulled up Papas’ former lawyer for treating his courtroom like a “suburban golf club”.
Westpac wants Forum Finance founder Bill Papas held in contempt of court, but the bank has hit a snag in serving its motion on the missing Papas, saying he dropped his lawyers without telling them the address of his current residence in Greece.
A judge has criticised Qantas and the Transport Workers’ Union for their “not particularly helpful” public comments about whether or not ground staff will be reinstated upon resolution of their long-running outsourcing dispute.