Joseph Gutnick defends wife in bankruptcy inquiry
JOSEPH Gutnick has faced off with lawyers in a stunning courtroom showdown in which he attacked media, jumped to the defence of his wife and religion and refused to answer questions.
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JOSEPH Gutnick has faced off with lawyers in a stunning courtroom showdown in which he attacked the media, jumped to the defence of his wife and religion and refused to answer questions.
The bankrupt mining magnate flagged defamation proceedings against media organisations over reporting of the ongoing public inquiry into his bankruptcy which he dubbed as “disgraceful”.
He angrily vowed to stop answering any questions about his wife or revered Jewish leader Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson who Mr Gutnick says loaned him $10 million before he died.
Much of today’s hearing centred around the loan with questions raised about how and when it was paid.
Mr Gutnick said the line of questioning was insulting to the memory of Rabbi Schneerson, the global leader of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
“I don’t care, you don’t want to recognise the Rebbe (Rabbi Schneerson) gave me the money or not, that's a problem you have. I know the Rebbe gave me the money,” he said.
“I’ll do whatever I can to prove it. You can put me away in prison for 25 years ... that money came to my account.”
Mr Gutnick said under the terms of the loan, he was not required to pay back the $10 million until he was ready, and has so far repaid just $1 million.
But he said he had given more than $100 million to the global Chabad movement since that time.
More: Gutnick has no car or home: bankruptcy documents
Mr Gutnick slammed reports that his wife, Stera, was paid $285,000 a year working for the family-controlled business, Merlin Diamonds, doing jewellery design and marketing.
He said reports about her salary were “disgusting”, belittled her, made a mockery of her and caused her embarrassment within Melbourne’s tight-knit ultra-orthodox Jewish community.
He said it was insinuated Mrs Gutnick did little work in exchange for her high salary but those claims were baseless and unfair. “She’s worth a lot more than $200,000, she’s worth millions,” he said.
“She’s herself a very precious gem. A diamond.”
Mr Gutnick said his wife had given up a career as one of Victoria’s best teachers and sacrificed time with her family, including a sick parent, to work for the family business after he filed for bankruptcy in July.
“She gave that all up. I was able to influence her because of what I thought and others thought she would be able to contribute to the company,” Mr Gutnick said.
He said she participated in meetings both here and overseas, spent up to three hours a day in the office, and studied jewellery design.
Mr Gutnick filed for bankruptcy, owing creditors more than $275.5 million. He told his trustees he had only $16,087 in cash.
Today, he hit out at previous reports he had amassed hundreds of millions of dollars.
“Paper wealth is relative,” he said. “Don’t believe what’s written in newspapers.”