Federal Court orders closure of business run by conwoman Melissa Caddick
The family of missing conwoman Melissa Caddick are at risk of losing millions of dollars as receivers work to regain funds.
NewsWire
Don't miss out on the headlines from NewsWire. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Missing conwoman Melissa Caddick will have her dodgy business wound up, while her family could lose their homes as receivers scramble to recoup millions of dollars following a Federal Court ruling.
Ms Caddick, 49, vanished from her multimillion-dollar Dover Heights home in Sydney’s east on November 12 last year after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission raided her property.
Three months later, her decomposed foot was found on a remote beach about 400km away, but the rest of her body has never been found.
Federal Court Justice Brigitte Markovic handed down a judgment on Monday, ruling Ms Caddick contravened the Corporations Act by working without holding an Australian Financial Services Licence from October 2012 to November 2020.
Ms Caddick’s business Maliver is named as the second defendant, with the same allegation made spanning from June 2013 to November 2020.
“Based on the interim receivers and provisional liquidators investigations — and subject to any potential unjust enrichment or uncommercial transaction claims regarding fictitious and possible inflated returns paid to investors, which will need to be further investigated in a liquidation — $23,554,921 remains owing to investors,” Justice Markovic told the court.
Bruce Gleeson and Daniel Robert Soire from Jones Partners have been appointed as receivers to identify, collect and secure the receivership property.
Among their responsibilities will be to ascertain investor funds and any funds advanced by any interested party to Ms Caddick, plus the identity of investors who ought to be included as an out of pocket investor, as well as any interested party who may be a creditor.
They will also seek directions in relation to the distribution of funds in the receivers’ trust account.
Court approval will still be required before taking possession of Ms Caddick and Maliver’s property, and distributing the proceeds of any sales.
“The above orders do not affect the rights of any secured creditor holding a mortgage or other security interest over any of the receivership property,” Justice Markovic said in her written orders.
“For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in these orders is intended to limit the right of the receivers to seek directions from the court.”
Maliver was also ordered to be wound up, with Mr Gleeson and Mr Soire appointed as liquidators.
Justice Markovic further ordered the remuneration, costs and expenses of the interim receivers between December 2020 to February this year be fixed at $188,017.
The judge’s full reasons are expected to be released on Wednesday after the parties agree on what information should be redacted.
Wild theories have emerged about what happened Ms Caddick, including that she may have chopped off her own foot and faked her disappearance.
The more likely scenario is she took her own life.
Ms Caddick has left behind her husband, teenage son and elderly parents.
Her parents are among those making claims after giving their daughter $1.03m so they could own part of an Edgecliff home.
None of her family are accused of wrongdoing or involvement in her death.
Originally published as Federal Court orders closure of business run by conwoman Melissa Caddick
AFL racism scandal claims club boss
The toll of the drawn-out racism scandal involving Hawthorn and former staff has resulted in the resignation of the club’s chief executive.
‘Tortured’ dad confessed abuse, court hears
An accused vigilante killer told police a young dad “confessed” to sexually abusing children while being tortured, a jury has heard.