Jurassic perks
Creditors hunting Clive over $67 million debt
ALMOST every inch of Clive Palmer’s business empire is in the firing line of a massive taxpayer-funded lawsuit, including a whopping $67 million debt from his controversial Coolum resort.
The lawsuit, lodged in the Brisbane Supreme Court, has broken down the expenses Queensland Nickel footed for the resort – from a $3787 bill for “dinosaur balls” at the Palmersaurus attraction, to more than $1 million in legal fees.
The Government-appointed liquidators are seeking up to $350 million from Mr Palmer’s businesses to pay back debts allegedly owed to QN, which collapsed last January with a $300 million creditor bill and 800 job losses. Mr Palmer, whose wealth was estimated at $344 million in May, is also being chased for about $300 million personally to pay his own debts to QN and as compensation for allegedly breaching his duties as a director.
Yesterday, he released a statement from his overseas cruise slamming the lawsuit as “just a desperate attempt for the Government to act for political purposes”.
Liquidators PPB Advisory have asked the court to order Palmer Leisure Coolum to pay about $67 million back to QN. “The Palmer Leisure Coolum payments were used, in part or in whole, to care for and maintain the Palmer Coolum Resort,” the claim alleges.
It is alleged QN sunk about $50 million into the resort for its day-to-day operations since Mr Palmer bought it in 2011, and also helped with legal costs, payroll, and a $158,000 rates bill.