Risk Clive offloading own assets

THE government-appointed liquidators of Queensland Nickel still don’t know Clive Palmer’s personal fortune and claim there is a real risk that the “cavalier” businessman is offloading assets.

An affidavit filed in a Supreme Court bid to freeze $200 million of Mr Palmer’s assets has revealed allegations that the former self-claimed billionaire has failed to produce current evidence of his financial situation, despite a Federal Court order to do so.

Liquidators PPB Advisory said that instead, he had provided a dated parliamentary statement of his asset position from 2013, when he was elected to federal parliament.

“It does not include a detailed description of Mr Palmer’s current asset position and merely lists, generally, his purported asset position as at 2013,” liquidator Stephen Parbery wrote in the affidavit.

“My concern regarding Mr Palmer’s assets arises, in part, from my inability to procure from Mr Palmer a transparent, comprehensive and accurate recitation of his asset position.”

He said Mr Palmer’s conduct as a director demonstrated a “habitually cavalier attitude” to his duties.

The affidavit raised fears the ex-politician’s assets were being offloaded – particularly given the recent $23 million sale of his Queen St headquarters – and less money would be available if he loses a lawsuit to claw back $300 million owed to creditors in the wake of QN’s collapse.

A hearing will take place in the Supreme Court in Brisbane next week to decide if Mr Palmer’s assets will be frozen.