Court set down judgement day for Forum Finance Fraud

A date for the outcome of the $400m Forum Finance fraud case in the Federal Court has been set after the judge involved was injured, forcing delays to finalising the judgment.

Greek-Australian businessman Bill Papas in Thessaloniki, Greece.

The marathon Forum Finance case — where a trio of banks, including Westpac, are seeking to claim almost $400m in damages — has been set down for judgement in October, about 20 months after hearings finished.

The Federal Court of Australia confirmed on Wednesday it would deliver judgement in the matter, which started in June 2021 after Westpac discovered an allegedly massive fraud perpetrated on the bank through allegedly fake asset financing agreements.

Westpac alleges Sydney leasing business the Forum group crafted the fake lease scheme, which saw the bank and rivals Societe General and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation hand over more than $500m for printers, office equipment, and waste digester machines that allegedly didn’t exist.

However, the alleged scheme was not discovered for years, as Forum never missed a lease payment, instead only being revealed after a customer questioned their loan headroom with Westpac.

The move to set down the case for judgement comes after questions from The Australian regarding delays by Justice Elizabeth Cheeseman.

A court spokesman said the delays in delivering a judgement in the case, which wrapped up in February last year, were due to Justice Cheeseman sustaining serious injuries in a car crash shortly after arguments concluded last year.

“While she has continued to work, she has had ongoing treatment, and this has impacted the time it has taken to complete the Forum judgement,” a Federal Court spokesman said.

“The complexity of the proceedings involving over 40 parties and three separate proceedings has made the task more challenging.”

“Justice Cheeseman has also needed to continue to deal with and finalise her load of appellate and other first instance work in the Court’s busiest registry.”

Westpac $500 fraud case against Forum Finance, (L-R) Vince Tesoriero with his lawyer as they leave the Sydney Federal Court. Picture: Jane Dempster

The Federal Court told parties on Wednesday Justice Cheeseman would likely deliver her judgement in October.

The outcome of the case could set in motion further efforts to recover funds from companies in the Forum Group or associated with figures within the business.

This includes the alleged mastermind of the fraud Bill Papas, also known as Basile Papadimitriou, who ran the Sydney leasing business.

The court has heard Mr Papas allegedly sketched out the fraud in a notebook, which was seized when Forum’s office was raided by lawyers.

The court heard Mr Papas had planned to escape overseas if ever confronted over the alleged fraud scheme, detailing the matter in a diagram before April 2018.

Westpac had told the court this plan included notes to “tell Vince everything”, referencing Mr Papas’ business partner Vincenzo Tesoriero.

Mr Papas remains overseas, after leaving Australia in June 2021, after Westpac discovered the alleged scheme.

He was joined by his partner and colleague Louise Agostino, who held a senior role within the Forum group’s waste digester subsidiary Iugis.

The court heard Mr Papas allegedly used some of the money from the Forum Fraud to purchase luxury properties in Greece and a Superleague 2 team Xanthi FC.

Westpac and liquidators McGrathNicol have spent almost three years seizing assets linked to the alleged fraud, including evicting Mr Tesoriero from a luxury property in Melbourne’s Hawthorn and making claims against companies associated with the Forum Finance alleged fraud.

NSW Police have also held an open file on the alleged fraud, with the fraud squad awaiting the outcome of Justice Cheeseman’s judgement.