Andrew Forrest has taken off the gloves and come out swinging in his billionaire brawl with Gina Rinehart over control of Atlas Iron.

Mr Forrest dramatically escalated the dispute when NCZ Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of his Fortescue Metals Group, turned to the Takeovers Panel with a series of explosive allegations in relation to Atlas and a $390 million takeover bid from Mrs Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting and its subsidiary, Redstone.