Machines up for grabs as fire sale for Bill Papas’s collapsed Forum moves ahead

Liquidators of entities related to Forum Finance founder Bill Papas are aiming to sell around 600 waste digester machines by the end of the week.

Forum Finance director Bill Papas was also a director at waste management firm Iugis.

Liquidators of entities related to Forum Finance and founder and soccer identity Bill Papas are aiming to have an indicative agreement in place to sell about 600 waste digester machines this week.

The Australian understands three bids were received from interested parties for the machines, which sat within the Iugis entity, and break down food waste into water. A preferred offer is expected to be identified within days and an outcome expected by the week’s end, as the liquidators seek to raise as much as possible from any saleable assets within the complex web of companies.

About 24 entities linked to Forum and Mr Papas were placed under the control of liquidators McGrathNicol last month, after Westpac and two global banks separately lobbed legal action against the company alleging fraudulent activity of $400m.

McGrathNicol is said to be selling about 300 waste digester machines that were within the premises of customers and a similar number that are being housed in a Sydney warehouse. Customers linked to having the machines include private hospitals, the Pullman Hotel in Sydney’s Hyde Park and Sydney pub The Fiddler.

Westpac is alleging fraud was perpetrated against the bank to the tune of $300m across Australia and New Zealand by Forum and Mr Papas, and is also pursuing Forum director Vincenzo Tesoriero to retrieve funds.

French bank Societe Generale and Japan’s SMBC Leasing and Finance have lodged separate legal cases in the Federal Court, alleging fraud by Forum.

The banks are building their respective cases against the company and Mr Papas, after providing the court with damning statements of claim outlining allegations of forged signatures for equipment leases and missing goods. The claims in the court documents often relate to Forum seeking finance for leases that were not entered into by the end customer.

The Australian last week revealed Mr Papas used a secret notebook to allegedly practise forging customers’ signatures, and made reference in it to needing an escape plan if serious fraud action emerged.

Sources said the notebook was kept at Forum’s Sydney head office and was seized in a raid of the company’s offices in late June.

Before overseeing a potential sale of the waste digester machines, McGrathNicol secured the sale of a solar energy firm within the Forum stable. Creditors last week voted to sell Autonomous Energy to a consortium led by the management team and a private investor.

Last month, leases for printers and photocopiers within the Forum Group were sold to technology firm Our Kloud, which is led by Mr Papas’s cousin Eric Constantinidis. That sale was secured by then administrator Mackay Goodwin.

Mr Papas remains in Greece after travelling there in June and later telling the court he had tested positive to Covid-19 and also required funds to purchase a return plane ticket.

Affidavits by Mr Papas and Mr Tesoriero reveal an empire of fast cars, houses and business interests spanning the globe. Mr Papas is the former president of Sydney Olympic Football Club and owns Greek second division soccer club Xanthi.

He stepped down as president of Sydney Olympic in July, when Westpac’s court action against him became public.