Westpac to claw back more money from the ‘audacious’ Papas-Tesoriero fraud

Vince Tesoriero with his lawyer as they leave the Sydney Federal Court during last year’s $500m fraud case. Picture: Jane Dempster

Westpac has its hooks into another small packet of money as part of the banking community’s efforts to recover the $500m stolen by Bill Papas and his Forum Group of companies.

Add aggrieved bankers to death and taxes to life’s certainties if you have fled the country with your loot and don’t have the money or inclination to fight the matter in court, at any rate.

It is six months since Westpac and fellow bankers Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Societe Generale won a sweeping judgment in the federal court confirming Papas and business partner Vince Tesorieromade off with $500m in an “audacious fraud”.

And Westpac is still intent on clawing back every dollar it can get its hands on; although the major bank appears to have missed a few tricks along the way.

The latest strike is against property company 1160 Glen Huntly Road Pty Ltd, controlled by Tesoriero and his father. The Federal Court last October said that Tesoriero and his father used $942,000 of Westpac’s money to acquire a $1.7m property at the same address.

That property was subsequently sold. The excess money, after a mortgage was paid off – about $760,000 – was put into an account under the control of the Victorian Supreme Court.

Surprisingly, however, Westpac’s cardigans weren’t paying attention when the company was deregistered by ASIC for failing to pay its annual fees, and the big bank had to this month return to the Federal Court to win orders forcing the corporate regulator to reinstate the company’s registration – so that Westpac could appoint receivers to recover its cash.

Justice Elizabeth Cheeseman was happy to agree, given that neither Papas nor Tesoriero sought to defend their position.

Papas is still, Margin Call hears, enjoying his liberty somewhere in Athens, Greece.

Bill Papas spotted on a beach in Greece. Picture: The Greek Herald

And Westpac seems comfortable with chasing down the remaining company assets in Forum before making any direct move to bankrupt Tesoriero.

There are still a few dollars missing from the mess, despite the latest court victory.

It’s not entirely clear how much has so far been recovered from Papas’ $500m fraud on the three banks.

McGrathNicol liquidators Jason Ireland and Jason Preston are estimated to have realised somewhere between $50m and $100m from the assets of the companies in the Forum Group, but Westpac has also been busy on its own behalf in Europe, forcing the seizure of some of Papas’ Greek assets as part of its global chase.

But rest assured, they are still on the hunt.