Former Bananacoast Community Credit Union boss Lyndon Kingston has quietly resurfaced in Brisbane

A former credit union boss fired nearly two years ago for “serious misconduct’’ involving an alleged multimillion-dollar racket is now back working in Brisbane.

RESURFACING

Nearly two years after he got sacked and then embroiled in a legal stoush with his former employer, Lyndon Kingston has quietly resurfaced in Brisbane.

Kingston, who spent almost 10 years as boss of the Bananacoast Community Credit Union, now works at accounting and financial advisory outfit HMW Group.

He features prominently on the company’s website, where he is seen walking down the stairs of a corporate office building with two colleagues and the words “Create Ambition’’ emblazoned across them.

Kingston is also seen under a banner saying “leadership team,’’ although he is conspicuously absent from the list of all-male partners and associates.

Indeed, his name appears nowhere on the site—and that’s not terribly surprising.

The credit union, known as BCU, fired Kingston for “serious misconduct’’ in October 2017 and alleged in court documents that he engineered a multimillion-dollar racket involving sham payments, kickbacks and improper expense claims.

Kingston had earlier sued BCU in May last year over an alleged $3.4 million in unpaid bonuses.

The company then filed a counterclaim alleging that he took $2.5 million in kickbacks from “uncommercial’’ contracts, approved a $345,000 “sham redundancy’’ payout to his wife and claimed $91,000 in fraudulent “living away from home’’ expenses.

That case was discontinued in February but BCU’s lawsuit against his spouse, Anna, remains before the Brisbane Supreme Court. The couple have denied any wrongdoing.

So how did Kingston end up at HMW, which is overseen by a trio of directors, including Angelo Catalano?

Well, Kingston and Catalano went to school together at St Columban’s College in the 1980s.

Later, they were both involved with Nant Whisky, where punters lost up to $20 million in an investment scheme in 2017.

BCU, during Kingston’s time at the helm, held a mortgage over Nant’s distillery in Tasmania. Catalano served as Nant’s accountant.

As part of its legal action, BCU alleged in court papers that Kingston had taken kickbacks from Catalano and had invoices rewritten so BCU would pay for his tax advice.

Neither Kingston nor Catalano, who has also denied any wrongdoing, returned a call seeking comment yesterday.

CEASED TRADING

Perhaps it was the lukewarm reviews.

Maybe it was a lack of diners eager to try the curious hybrid of Indian dishes with an Asian influence.

Whatever the reason, the lavishly-appointed Heritij eatery has ceased trading at Brisbane Quarter, the $1 billion mixed-use complex in the CBD.

Heritij at the Brisbane Quarter. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

The shock closure comes less than year after it opened last September under the guiding hands of restaurateurs Nick Pinn and Sridhar Penumechu.

Together they recruited Michelin-starred chef Manjunath Mural, who made a name for himself at the acclaimed Song of India dining hotspot in Singapore.

Pinn parted ways earlier this year with Penumechu, who is now understood to be in talks with Brisbane Quarter management about a potential reopening.

Penumechu did not return a call yesterday but remains busy operating his Saffron restaurant on the Gold Coast. JLL operative Jacqui Kinloch, who oversees Brisbane Quarter, also failed to respond to a request for comment.

A HAPPIER NOTE

On a happier note for Brisbane Quarter, a flash new yum cha joint will be launched Thursday night with a lion dance and a suckling pig on a spit.

Brisbane Phoenix is the first Queensland outpost for Anita Fung’s successful Phoenix Group, which operates four well-regarded eateries around Sydney built up over the past 20 years.

CEO and founder Anita Fung at Phoenix in the Brisbane Quarter. Pics Tara Croser.

An invite-only crowd of about 150 is expected to pack the place, which opened last month with a striking fit out of dark timber, atmospheric red lanterns and private dining nooks.

Among those on the guest list are media identities Kylie Blucher, Sofie Formica, Bill McDonald and Katherine Feeney, as well as performer Luke Kennedy, Olympic swimmer Christian Sprenger and ex-Bronco Sam Thaiday with his missus, Rachael.