Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has avoided a discovery order that would cost an estimated $3 million to comply with, with a judge instead ordering that limited discovery be given to two Rinehart children in an ongoing family dispute over titles for the Hope Down iron ore mine.
Administrators have lined up a buyer for a Forum Group entity, as a first creditors meeting confirms Westpac has the largest claim to any recoveries after an alleged $400 million fraud by the equipment leasing company.
The director of the Forum Group companies accused of a $360 million fraud involving at least three major banks can’t return to Australia from Greece because he has COVID-19, his lawyer has told the Federal Court.
The Federal Court has ordered the winding up of Forum Finance, which has been accused by Westpac and French investment bank Societe Generale of a $263 million fraud, as details of the company’s jetsetting director’s planned return to Australia from Europe remain murky.
Global legal giant Dentons has snagged a Herbert Smith Freehills competition partner with almost 30 years experience at the big six firm for its Sydney office.
Insurance giant QBE Insurance Australia has launched a COVID-19 business interruption test case in the Federal Court, following a landmark loss for insurers in the NSW Court of Appeal that could cost them $10 billion.
Dentons has snagged one partner and four lawyers from a Perth law firm to join its recovery and restructuring team, as part of its ambitious 2021 growth strategy.
Food dip producer Obela Fresh Dips & Spreads has won a $3 million judgment against a former director who defrauded the company of millions of dollars, lied about his wife’s suicide and fled the country.
Payouts in class actions in 2020 largely kept pace with the previous year despite the financial strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, with companies and other defendants paying more than $696 million to settle class actions last year.
Financial crimes regulator AUSTRAC will not take legal action against Afterpay over its compliance with anti-money laundering laws, following an external auditor’s report that found the buy now, pay later provider had received “incorrect” legal advice from several top-tier law firms about its compliance program.