Palmer facing four new charges
THE head of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Commissioner John Price, revealed at a federal parliamentary hearing yesterday that the regulator had laid four criminal charges against mining magnate Clive Palmer.
MINING magnate Clive Palmer has been charged with four new criminal offences by Australia’s corporate watchdog.
The head of the e Australian Securities s and Investments Com- mission commissioner John Price revealed at a federal parliamentary y the hearing regulator yesterday had that laid a four charges against Mr r Palmer for conduct dat- ing back to 2013.
ASIC would not divulge what business activity the charges related to but the charges are specifically – two counts of dishonestly gaining an advantage for another person and two counts of dishonestly using his position as a company director to gain an advantage for someone else.
It is understood the charges relate to Mr Palmer’s Mineralogy rather than the controversial collapse of Queensland Nickel, which resulted in hundreds of people losing their jobs in Townsville when the Yabulu refinery shut.
Mr Price, speaking at the parliamentary hearing, said Mr Palmer had been served with a complaint on summons three weeks ago which compels the mining magnate to attend Brisbane Magistrates Court on March 20.
The two counts of dishonestly gaining an advantage for another person were laid under Queensland law and each carry a maximum penalty of five years in jail while the other two charges, which were laid under Commonwealth companies law, can attract the same amount of jail time. Mr Palmer, who would not co comment on the ex exact nature of the ch charges, told the AustralianA Financial Review ASIC had not charged him on td m matters in ing Queensland concernNickel.
“They have charged me over another thing but it’s nothing to worry about,” he said.
“It’s just a fabricated charge which will be dismissed pretty easily, which is what we do with ASIC charges which are political in nature.
“We’ll be making a statement soon. It will be resolved in court.”
Mr Palmer’s Mineralogy donated $83.6 million to the billionaire’s United Australia Party during the federal election campaign but failed to win a single seat.
The Bulletin revealed Mineralogy’s cash splash on donations and ads was the company’s largest expense in the 2018-19 financial year.
Most recently the company made the single largest campaign donation in Queensland electoral history, $502,833, to Townsville mayoral candidate Greg Dowling.