Clive Palmer faces fresh criminal charges from corporate watchdog

Businessman and former MP Clive Palmer has been hit with fresh criminal charges from the corporate watchdog.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission commissioner John Price revealed the development during a joint parliamentary committee hearing on Friday.

The corporate watchdog on Friday revealed four new charges it has laid against Mr Palmer.Credit: AAP Image/Dan Peled

The watchdog this month laid four charges against Mr Palmer for dishonestly gaining an advantage and dishonestly using his position as the director of a corporation. Mr Price would not elaborate on which business activities the charges related to.

During the corporations and financial services committee hearing, Perth Labor MP Patrick Gorman asked Mr Price about the ASIC investigation into Queensland Nickel, which he had raised in a previous hearing.

"One of the answers that I received was that you had received ... another 32 terabytes of electronic data which you were analysing at that point in time, which was in September last year," Mr Gorman said.

"I'd be interested in any updates about what you found from that data and on the investigation more generally."

Mr Price responded: "We did find material of interest in relation to that matter and things have moved on somewhat since we last spoke."

Asked in what regard, Mr Price said the watchdog had served Mr Palmer with a complaint and summons on February 7, requiring him to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on March 20.

"Mr Palmer has been charged with two counts of contravening section 408C subsection 1D of the Criminal Code of Queensland by dishonestly gaining a benefit or advantage, pecuniary of otherwise, for another person," Mr Price said.

"And two counts of contravening section 184 subsection 2 of the Corporations Act by dishonestly using his position as a director of a corporation with the intention of directly or indirectly gaining an advantage for someone else.

"These charges relate to conduct which is alleged to have taken place in 2013 and the matter is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions.

"For obvious reasons, ASIC does not propose to comment or provide further detail about this matter until the matter is before the court on March 20, 2020."

Responding to more questions, Mr Price said the watchdog had further investigations ongoing around a "number of entities".

Brisbane Times has made attempts to reach Mr Palmer, who told the Australian Financial Review the charges were not related to the 2016 collapse of Queensland Nickel but "another thing", which was "nothing to worry about".

"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," he said.

"We'll be making a statement soon. It will (be) resolved in court."

"It's very good it's happened to me because I have the resources to defend myself.

"If it happened to some other poor guy he wouldn't have a chance."

The charges follow separate court action launched by ASIC in 2018 - being fought by Mr Palmer - over an alleged breach of takeover law related to his troubled Coolum resort.

Through his company Mineralogy, Mr Palmer, who held the federal Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax from 2013 until 2016, donated more than $80 million to his United Australia Party ahead of last year's election.

Queensland's electoral commission last month received an application to register Clive Palmer's United Australia Party ahead of the October 31 state poll.