‘Inside trader’ Twitter call brings out fight in stockpicker Tolga Kumova; Crown pieces coming together

Tolga Kumova and barrister Sue Chrysanthou leave the Federal Court in Sydney on Wednesday. Picture: Gaye Gerard

It was sometime in 2019 that Tolga Kumova – a stockpicker who scrapped his way to extraordinary wealth, earning a fortune through small-cap mining stocks and a place on the nation’s rich list – ­realised that the fund managers he had been speaking to for years were no longer willing to take his calls.

A subtle, almost gradual excommunication of Kumova had begun taking effect around this time after allegations of impropriety were published about him on Twitter, all of them by an anonymous account – StockSwami, which used a pale, cadaverous figure as its avatar.

“When you get called a criminal, people start not wanting to be associated with you,” Kumova told the Federal Court during his defamation trial against Alan Francis Davison, the man responsible for the StockSwami account.

Kumova told the court on Wednesday that he initially brushed off Davison’s “obsessive” tweets. But they could no longer be ignored once company executives, fellow board members and his peers started phoning him on a routine basis to query the allegations.

They included claims that he had artificially inflated stock ­prices, behaved unlawfully and engaged in insider trading, one of the most devastating accusations one can make in the world of stocks and finance – a realm, the court heard, where reputations, relationships and trust are pivotal to livelihoods.

“Insider trading, you say that to someone in my industry, in my position, it’s a big deal,” said ­Kumova, his voice at time straining with emotion.

“Like, if I’ve heard that you, the judge, one of the people in this room that I deal with, had been called an insider trader, then I just would not take their calls. I wouldn’t even say anything, I’d just be like ‘stay away’.”

In other tweets, Davison alleged that Kumova had worked with a “syndicate” to artificially “pump” stock prices at mining companies, including Bellevue Gold and European Cobalt, where he held substantial investments.

Davison remained in New Zealand during Wednesday’s hearing and must travel to Australia to provide evidence in person, after Justice Michael Lee denied an ­application to hear evidence via audiovisual link.

Other elements of Davison’s case have similarly fallen flat, including an argument that his tweets and other documents be protected from discovery owing to his status as a “citizen journalist”.

Kumova’s barrister, Sue Chrysanthou SC, highlighted the paucity of Davison’s credentials in reporting and finance during her opening statement, telling the court that he lacked any experience as a journalist, a financial adviser, a stockbroker or stock trader.

“We’re told that for over a decade he focused on spirituality and meditation, spending over a decade in an ashram where he was initiated as a swami, which is why he has that handle on Twitter,” Chrysanthou said.

In the witness box, Kumova himself said Davison’s tweets were replete with lies and made a mockery of his claims to be a journalist. “He’s basically spitting in the face of journalism,” Kumova said.

Chrysanthou said the good standing of Kumova, the son of an immigrant cab driver, in finance had been cultivated over decades, from his humble beginnings running a car wash to gradually gaining a foothold in the industry through university and, later, a career in stockbroking.

Initial success came with the purchase of a uranium exploration licence in Mozambique, in 2011, and the discovery of a large graphite deposit that Kumova believed would be useful for electric-vehicle batteries. The venture was later bought by Syrah Resources, eventually providing him with a $30m payment.

Kumova told the court he remains invested in up to 60 exploration companies.

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Crowning moment

Pieces are clicking into place for Chris Tynan and his team at Blackstone in Sydney as the private equity giant prepares to take ownership of Crown Resorts at the close of this week.

On Wednesday, Crown chief Steve McCann revealed the company had been given the green light to unveil the members-only gaming floor in its $2.3bn Barangaroo facility, after the NSW government finally approved a conditional licence for gambling to commence.

Crown chief executive Steve McCann. Picture: Ian Currie

Some 400 gaming staff were given the news a day earlier by Crown’s executive general manager of gaming, Cori Cairns, and boss of Crown Sydney Simon McGrath, apparently greeting the news with jubilation and even some tears at the prospect of finally working the long-idle tables.

The company believes it has a further 700 staff to recruit in order to bring the facility to full capacity with a workforce of about 2000 people.

But punters will have to pass an approval process to make it through the doors of Crown’s Crystal and Mahogany gaming rooms, with the probing likely to include checks on their associates, finances and other fossicking of credit that cannot be gained on the spot.

Apparently there’s an online application to speed up the banalities, but even that takes about 24 hours for an outcome.

Membership will be free and attached to the existing Crown Rewards scheme, and we hear that some existing Crown customers are already approved to start wagering.

They’ll be first through the doors for what is expected to be a soft opening.

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Cat raises stake

Entrepreneur and regional media proprietor Antony Catalano is continuing his march towards local real estate market dominance, increasing his stake in property advertising firm Tomorrow Agency.

Anthony Catalano. Picture: Tony Gough

Catalano, chair of Australian Community Media, lifted his share in the Melbourne-based agency from 20 per cent to 30 per cent and took a seat on the company’s board, where he sits alongside managing director and founder Ant Bray and creative director Lars Weisenberger.

Bray, Weisenberger and Catalano now own equal amounts in the enterprise.

The increased stake adds to the Cat’s suite of other investments across the real estate industry, several held with his billionaire ACM partner, Alex Waislitz.

Meanwhile Catalano, who has nine children, looks to have one eye on the future with the creation of new corporate vehicle Kirant Holdings, of which he is sole director and company secretary.

His wife Stephanie and older three children Jordan, Francesca and Luca are also listed as shareholders.

There are six other parcels of shares in Catalano’s name, but perhaps they’re on standby for when his younger children come of age.

Perhaps a bit of estate planning to avoid any battles over family wealth that have afflicted the houses of Rinehart and Fox in recent times.