Queensland man Tom Peever caught up in $200m ATO chase is the nephew of former Rio exec David Peever

A man accused of a $200m tax fraud via a web of fake mining companies is the nephew of a highly respected former Rio Tinto managing director.

Tom Peever’s uncle is legendary miner David Peever, pictured. David Peever declined to comment for this story. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

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A Queensland man accused of fraudulently claiming tax refunds through a sham mining operation is the nephew of Australian resources royalty and the former chair of Cricket Australia, David Peever.

The Australian Taxation Office froze more than $200m worth of assets belonging to Tom Peever, his wife Kirsten Peever, and mining companies linked with the pair including one called Elution Metals.

Court documents reveal that Mr Peever’s business “purported to operate a mining operation which the commissioner contends was false”, according to a probe originally kept secret from the entrepreneurs because they were deemed at risk of fleeing.

David Peever declined to comment for this story when contacted by The Australian. The former Rio Tinto Australia managing director is not mentioned in any of the tax office’s legal submissions, and there are no allegations made against him.

Tom and Kirsten Peever at their wedding. Tom and Kirsten Peever allegedly owe the Australian Taxation Office more than $200m after their assets were frozen.

David Peever spent 27 years at Rio and was credited with restoring the company’s reputation in Canberra amid concerns in 2009 it was getting too close to China’s Chinalco.

His time in cricket administration ended when he resigned in the wake of the Longstaff review, sparked by the infamous 2018 Cape Town ball-tampering saga. As a company director, he presently serves on the Brisbane Airport board.

Neither Tom nor Kirsten Peever have commented on the tax office’s accusations of fraudulently claiming GST and research and development tax refunds. They apparently scrubbed their social media profiles, but a LinkedIn account purportedly belonging to Tom Peever claims he worked at Glencore, CuDeco, Peabody Energy and Papua New Guinea-based Ok Tedi Mining.

The ATO alleged a web of just under 30 companies falsely claimed GST refunds worth about $76m between 2018 and 2022 and research and development refunds worth about $22m for 2020 and 2021, according to submissions made to the Federal Court in the freezing order application, seen by The Australian.

David Peever and inset, Tom Peever.

Companies can claim GST back on the tax charged in the price of any goods and services bought for a business. As well, some companies can claim a research and development tax offset which is designed to encourage businesses to invest.

The ATO submitted that the falsely claimed GST refunds and refundable R&D offsets rest on equally false claims that creditable acquisitions of $700 million occurred.

Mr and Mrs Peever allegedly used the money to purchase luxury property and shares, directed to fund their lifestyle, the ATO claimed.

“To date, Mr and Mrs Peever appear to continue to be using the assets purchased with the GST refunds and R&D offsets received by the company taxpayers, as well as rent and dividends from these assets, for their personal expenses and lifestyle, including credit cards, house renovations, jewellery, travel, alcohol, and art,” the ATO submissions read.

“See for example, the dissipation of approximately $340,000 being dividends, rental income, and proceeds from the sale of a Mercedes Benz ... which funds were used for various personal expenses (including IVF/medical expenses), $64,500 in cash withdrawals, over $100,000 in legal fees and substantial property expenses and renovations.”

The Federal Court agreed to freeze assets belonging to Mr and Mrs Peever, including multimillion-dollar properties on the Gold Coast’s Broadbeach and Brisbane’s Pullenvale, a CommSec trading account and a Mercedes Benz worth $178,000.

The tax office has levelled remarkable claims against Tom Peever, who along with the web of companies, ran the alleged false mining operation.

“Mr Peever falsely contended that the company taxpayers were undertaking mining operations and he entered into milestone agreements and loan agreements,” the tax office alleged.

Mr and Mrs Peever were again contacted for comment.

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