United Petroleum servo operators allege commission and rent hikes made ‘business unviable’

A former employee accused of extorting cash from a petrol station operator has hit back at United Petroleum with explosive claims about the company’s business practices.

United Petroleum chief executive David Szymczak.

An ex-employee of two of Australia’s richest men claims in court documents United Petroleum imposed commercial terms that render the operation of its petrol station businesses “unviable” by increasing commission rates and rent hikes.

Former retail operations manager Abdullah Qadir made the claims in his defence to a Federal Court case launched against him and two other former employees by United Petroleum.

United chief executive David Szymczak said Mr Qadir’s claims are “categorically untrue”, that no reliance should be placed on them and said the company is supportive of its petrol station operators.

United, which was founded by Eddie Hirsch and Avi Silver in 1993, and who are now worth about $4.02bn, accused Mr Qadir of accepting cash worth $106,000 after he allegedly told a petrol station operator he could help him pass company audits or have him replaced if he didn’t pay up.

Mr Qadir denied the allegations against him in his defence, although he admitted to accepting $81,000 — not as a result of the alleged threats.

United Petroleum co-founder Avi Silver. Picture David Geraghty

But in response to United’s claim that the company had suffered loss and damage due to Mr Qadir’s alleged conduct, Mr Qadir denied that and said any loss was “caused by United’s own operational decisions concerning its commission agents”.

Commission agents enter into individual agreements with United to operate their servos.

Mr Qadir alleged United imposed “commercial terms that rendered the several commission agent’s businesses commercially unviable”.

As well, he claimed the company reduced commission rates for commission agents, increased their site rent and failed “to adequately address agent concerns when raised”.

In a statement, Mr Szymczak said “many of our Commission Agents have worked with United for many years. United provides very comprehensive training, merchandising and business support to our Agents”.

“Mr Qadir’s claims are categorically untrue and a baseless attempt to divert blame from himself,” he said. “Mr Qadir breached his obligations to United and his conduct caused both United and others to suffer loss.”

The other former United staff identified in the same case as Mr Qadir were compliance lead Max Saggar and retail operation fuel support Sarthak Oza.

Mr Saggar was accused of threatening a petrol station operator if he failed to pay “consultancy fees” into a bank account belonging to his wife. United alleged he was paid $28,000, but in his defence Mr Saggar objected to the allegations and said a number of them are liable to be struck out.

United Petroleum was founded by Eddie Hirsch and Avi Silver in 1993.

He claimed privilege against penalty and self-incrimination if the allegations against him constitute breaches of corporations law and the criminal code.

United also accused Mr Oza of receiving payments in exchange for promising another commission agent “an interest” in petrol stations across Victoria and Tasmania.

In his defence, Mr Oza objected to the claims against him. He said he was not involved in “any activities which (created) conflict between United and commission agents”.

Mr Oza said in his defence that it was made clear to him when he started “that his job is to take orders as instructed”.

Mr Qadir no longer works at United, and the company said Mr Saggar and Mr Oza were dismissed.

In a separate case, United accused a former commission agent Shashikanth Bomma of demanding $6000 per month from another servo operator. Mr Bomma denied this in his defence but said he asked for $65,000 out of $100,000 he loaned the station operator.

In his first defence, Mr Bomma claimed United was aware “its senior personnel were engaging in racketeering, extorting payments from the Respondents as a condition of their enjoying favourable treatment (“protection”) as commission agents”.

The pleading was subsequently dropped due to a lack of particulars, but Mr Bomma’s defence released to The Australian by the Federal Court made the claims.

“The Respondents further aver that such racketeering is and has been endemic to the United Business,” Mr Bomma claimed in his first defence.

United has rejected those allegations.

A spokesman for the Department of Home Affairs said it would be inappropriate to comment on the matters while they are before court, but the “Australian government has zero tolerance for exploitation of migrant workers. All workers in Australia — regardless of visa status — have the same workplace rights and protections”.

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