Queensland Nickel’s Mensink holed up in Bulgaria

LIQUIDATORS seeking to drag former Queensland Nickel director and CEO Clive Mensink home to face court will redouble efforts to serve him with legal papers, after News Corp Australia located the missing businessman living the high life in Bulgaria.

Stephen Parbery, of the PPB Advisory, which the Commonwealth appointed to recover money it paid to workers after Queensland Nickel went into liquidation in late 2016, says Mr Mensink has questions to answer.

“I think that his conduct appears to be that he’s evading answering questions important to our inquiries,” Mr Parbery said.

Mr Mensink, the nephew of Clive Palmer, is not subject of an extradition order but is on an Interpol watch list. He has an arrest warrant for failing to appear in court but would only be arrested if he landed back in Australia.

Mr Palmer is alleged to have had true control over Queensland Nickel. The Supreme Court action seeks to freeze $200m of assets related to Mr Palmer and his companies, and to make him and Mr Mensink, along with others, accountable for company’s debts.

Mr Parbery said that on the face of it Mr Mensink was the remaining director and CEO of Queensland Nickel, which when it collapsed cost 800 Townsville workers their jobs.

The Commonwealth stepped in to assist with redundancy payments.

Mr Palmer has denied knowledge of his nephew’s whereabouts, but Mr Mensink continues to be paid $16,000 every month from Mr Palmer’s flagship company, Mineralogy.

The liquidators have claims against Mr Palmer for $219m and Mr Mensink for $121.5m.