Clive Palmer's Queensland Nickel traded while insolvent

Outspoken billionaire businessman Clive Palmer has thwarted a liquidator's bid to claw back more than $100 million over his failed nickel refinery.

However, Justice Deborah Mullins found Queensland Nickel refinery traded insolvently in the days before administrators were called in to oversee the cash-strapped company.

Clive Palmer at a previous Queensland Nickel court hearing.Credit: Jono Searle/AAP

This could open the way for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to prosecute the directors under the Corporations Act.

Justice Mullins also found that $135 million worth of share transactions between QN and two of Mr Palmer's companies – China First and Waratah Coal – in the days before the refinery collapsed in 2016 were invalid.

The judgment, handed down in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Wednesday, concludes the massive trial over the company's 2016 collapse.

It took more than two years for government-appointed liquidators of QN to bring Mr Palmer to trial.

The former federal MP fought hard to have the claim dismissed, describing it as baseless and a desperate politically motivated attack.

The liquidators initially sought to recover about $200 million owed to creditors when the Townsville refinery collapsed, leaving hundreds without a job.

Their 280-page claim lodged in June 2017, named 21 defendants, including Mr Palmer's flagship company, Mineralogy, and his nephew, Clive Mensink.

Mr Palmer settled most of the claims against him and the other defendants during the trial, including repaying $66 million in taxpayer funds used to pay sacked workers.

The deals worth about $130 million also secured the full recovery of the majority of debts owed to unsecured creditors and settled an $88 million Aurizon claim for about $18 million.

That left $102 million on the table, which the liquidators alleged was payable for a series of unrepaid loans from QN to Mineralogy.

But Justice Mullins rejected the claim saying the transactions were payments from QN's joint venture companies to Mineralogy, not QN.

"It follows the plaintiffs' claims against Mineralogy whether claimed as a debt, moneys lent or moneys paid must be dismissed," she said.

The liquidators were successful, however, over the China First and Waratah Coal transactions, which they claimed were uncommercial.

In a statement, Queensland Nickel's liquidators John Park, Kelly-Anne Trenfield and Quentin Olde said they were reviewing the decision and considering a response with their legal team.

"Justice Mullins found both the China First charge and the Waratah Coal charge, as set out in the Administrators 439A report, were uncommercial transactions and therefore voidable," they said.

"It had been claimed that these transactions had resulted in QNI incurring a liability of approximately $135 million shortly prior to its administration and that obligation was secured by charges given to China First and Waratah Coal.

"The liquidators were successful in setting aside these transactions.

"Justice Mullins did not find in favour of the liquidator’s claim against Mineralogy."

Outside of court, Mr Palmer claimed the decision as a win and said he would now seek compensation from the liquidator.

"I'm considering a $50 million action against John Park and the overseas liquidator funder Vannin Capital Operations Limited," he said in a statement.

"The lies against me are unprecedented in Australian history. The stand I have taken was to not allow evil to triumph."

The question of penalties over the China First and Waratah Coal decision and the costs of the trial will be determined at a later date.

ASIC declined to comment.

-AAP with Toby Crockford