A judge has criticised the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for treating timetabling orders in its insider trading case against Westpac over a $16 billion interest rate swap as though they were “traffic lights in Naples”.
Forum Group’s liquidators are seeking to wind up an entity owned by founder Bill Papas that received over $2.6 in “loans” from the alleged fraudster, as they work to recoup almost $400 million allegedly defrauded from three banks.
The former chief financial officer of beleaguered Forum Group has been dragged into a lawsuit by Westpac seeking to recoup $294 million in funds paid into an alleged fraudulent scheme.
Banking giant Westpac has admitted to allegations in six new cases by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission alleging widespread compliance failures across multiple businesses, and will agree to pay a combined $100 million penalty.
A judge has scolded Slater & Gordon and two Westpac subsidiaries for a “disgraceful” privilege spat in a class action over allegedly excessive superannuation fees that he said had “gone badly off the rails”.
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.
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.
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.
Saying the interests of class action members “must be given primacy”, a judge has rejected the first bid for a group costs order in a class action since contingency fee legislation passed in Victoria.