Pankaj and Radhika Oswal’s $200m ANZ Bank heist

Illustration: Rod Clement.

The Oswals did it!

Despite assurances by Shayne Elliott’s ANZ throughout the case that the bank would never settle with the flamboyant Indian business couple Pankaj and “wifey” Radhika Oswal for anywhere near $200 million, ANZ did exactly that.

Flamboyant Indian business couple Pankaj and Radhika Oswal. Picture: AAP Image/Julian Smith.

“In the end, we took the view that in these quite unusual and complex circumstances the residual risks for ANZ were too great in the Oswal case,” Elliott told his staff yesterday, in an email.

It’s what the pro-wrestlers call “tapping out”.

The payout of hundreds of millions of dollars was truly a victory for the little guy — or at least the couple of ruling caste Indians from super rich families.

Sadly, Pankaj’s billionaire ­father Abhey Oswal was not around to see his son’s victory in Melbourne. The tycoon died in March, aged 67, while on business in Moscow.

According to an interview Pankaj gave to the Indian business press in April, father and son discussed the ambitious claim against ANZ in what turned out to be their final conversation.

“I had briefed him about my Australian cases and that I’m ­visiting Australia for the last leg of that fight very soon,” Pankaj revealed.

ANZ’s embarrassing settlement — acknowledged but not fully disclosed by the bank on the ASX — will more than clear the Oswals’ debt (towards $100m) with Chris Jordan’s Australian Taxation Office.

Their only other unresolved business in Australia is their abandoned Perth mansion “Taj on Swan”, which is scheduled to be demolished by Peppermint Grove council (at an estimated cost of $88,680). Then the couple can return to their next big project — wrangling with Pankaj’s mother Aruna Oswal over the Oswal family’s billion-dollar-plus fortune.

Aruna is currently running their two listed firms, Oswal Greentech and Oswal Agro Mills. The eldest son has been completely cut out.

Her camp claims Pankaj’s ­father disowned him because of his legal strife in Australia.

Pankaj swears these are “false rumours” and has promised to “start the process to take charge”. While the terror of ANZ will be out of Australia soon, it sounds like he’ll be back in the courts in no time.

Mug half full

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe had his debut appearance yesterday in front of the newly formed House of Representatives economic committee.

New Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe. Picture: AFP Photo/Peter Parks.

Liberal committee member Scott Buchholz asked the new governor if, like his predecessor Glenn Stevens, he was also a glass-half-full kind of guy.

“The governor left me one thing. When I moved into his office earlier in the week, there was one item he left me,” Lowe revealed. “It was a coffee mug. And the coffee mug is emblazoned with ‘half full’. He had had that in his office for quite a long time, and it is the one thing he has left me. I am very pleased he did that, because that is my mindset as well.”

Good to know.

On Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s instructions, the same committee — chaired by David Coleman, the Member for Banks — will gather in a fortnight to grill the big four bank bosses (starting with CBA’s Ian Narev) over interest rate changes.

Bad vibrations

No one should have been surprised to find former BBY executive chairman Glenn “Son of Ken” Rosewall in a testy mood in the NSW Supreme Court yesterday.

Glenn Rosewall at the Supreme Court. Picture: Renee Nowytarger/The Australian.

Of course Glenn was annoyed. All you had to do was read Virgo’s daily forecast on Horoscope.com.

“Too much rigorous exercise over the past few days might have you feeling a little sore and tired, Virgo. Your nerves may be on edge, and you could be more likely than usual to snap at those around you,” went the forecast.

And so “Son of Ken” was, as he was questioned about the influence of astrologist Nevine Rottinger on his business dealings.

Glenn (surprising us by dressing in a conventional suit and tie, rather than a Druid’s robe) gingerly defended the role of Rottinger’s vibrational and astrological expertise at the now fallen stockbroker. “It was just another input,” he said.

Glenn is back in court today to be further questioned.

And Horoscope.com’s preview? “If it’s true that you reap what you sow, Virgo, you’re in for a great harvest in the coming months.” Ominous.

Initial thoughts ...

David Livingstone’s integrated investment bank Citi has not endeared itself to retail billionaire Solomon Lew.

Retail billionaire Solomon Lew. Picture: David Geraghty/The Australian.

The ASX-listed Premier Investments fell a dramatic 8 per cent in early trading yesterday, despite the retail group releasing a not-too-shabby result. Sales were above $1 billion first the first time. Profits were above $100m.

Still, head of research at Citi Craig Woolford took a bearish approach — particularly in his “Initial Thoughts” (take one), which was sent out not long after Lew was spotted getting his shoes shined at UBS’s Melbourne headquarters.

Of some concern to Woolford — and passed on to clients — was the “slowdown in the second half”.

The Citi analyst singled out net profit falling “11 per cent” in the second half. Only it hadn’t. It was up 19 per cent.

Just before the end of the trading day, Woolford’s “Initial Thoughts” (take two) were published with the cock-up removed — if not explicitly corrected.

Meanwhile, his bearish voice had been all over the online financial press.

Trading the trough in the Citi fog for most of the day, Premier shares closed down 2 per cent to $16.17.

Pink and purple

There are, of course, much worse things than a net profit error on a respected analyst’s research note.

Just ask Nick Greiner.

The former NSW premier turned company director yesterday gave a keynote address to the first Sydney Pink Lady lunch for the Breast Cancer Network of Australia — and it was gutsy, even by Greiner standards.

Former NSW premier Nick Greiner. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui/The Australian.

In 2014, he was diagnosed with breast cancer — as is the terrible lot of about 150 men in Australia each year.

“I didn’t know male breast cancer existed,” he said.

“I had always though of it as a women’s disease.”

An initial misdiagnosis was then corrected and followed by a mastectomy.

The ordeal taught Greiner — always the empiricist — that the local breast cancer network isn’t great at supporting men.

We are sorry to relay that all this was underlined for Greiner, 69, when he battled prostate cancer this year and found that there was a much broader support network.

He suggested the hugely popular “pink” colour motif could be joined by a purple for men.

Greiner’s son, JBWere chief executive officer Justin Greiner, was also along.

“It’s a bumpy flight physically and emotionally,” his father said of his ordeal.

“You shouldn’t fly alone.”