PPB denies poor management claim

PPB issued a statement strongly denying the allegations and said the tainted feed was already being used by Mr Sciacca’s staff, and was replaced by PPB within two weeks – a claim Mr Sciacca himself strongly denies.

“We are required under the Corporations Act to ensure any asset under our control is maintained, and we met or exceeded this requirement in the case of Aussea Holdings,” it said.

“Continuity of operations was a key focus throughout the duration of the receivership, and we immediately secured the services of the farm’s core management team, including Sam Sciacca, to supervise and report on operations, including the welfare of the prawn stock, pond conditions, and water quality. We also engaged external specialist expertise to safeguard the welfare of the prawn stock where required.

“The extent to which we maintained the facility is represented by the stringent assessment and action taken to resolve any operational issues, and the commitment of funding to ensure the value of the asset was preserved.

“The actual expenditure to maintain the farm during the receivership exceeded the cash-flow expenditure forecast, which was prepared by Aussea’s management team prior to our appointment.”

Mr Sciacca disputed his level of involvement in running the farm under PPB, saying he offered advice but could take no responsibility for prawn production as his advice was usually ignored.

ANZ Bank said it had released Mr Sciacca from $2 million in accumulated debt after considering his circumstances.

Mr Sciacca said the $2 million included debts run up by PPB while they were adminis- trators and ANZ tried to make Mr Sciacca and his business partner liable for that debt.

They said they agreed – under duress – to not pursue a $4.3 million damages claim against ANZ in return.

ANZ said receivers were appointed after defaults on the loans and after the original lender Landmark had supported the group for a period so it could try to trade through its financial difficulties.

But, based on past poor performance and future forecasts, ANZ stated there was no other alternative but to appoint a receiver.