Clive Palmer’s bid to block access to Queensland Nickel funds

Clive Palmer’s companies are seeking injunctions against the administrators of his Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd.

Clive Palmer in Canberra yesterday. Picture Kym Smith

Clive Palmer’s companies are seeking injunctions against the administrators of his Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd in a bid to block a demand for $190 million and to stymie access to bank accounts.

The businessman MP faces the possibility of up to five years’ jail, bankruptcy and the unravelling of his corporate empire after administrators FTI Consulting said he had siphoned more than $200m from cash-strapped QN to his other businesses before its collapse.

Yesterday, Mr Palmer stepped up verbal attacks on FTI Consulting managing partner John Park — whom the MP hand-picked as voluntary administrator for QN in January — describing the allegations as “completely false”.

He said his companies QNI Metals and QNI Resources, the joint-venture partners that own the Townsville refinery, were seeking Queensland Supreme Court injunctions against Mr Park and fellow administrators.

According to court documents, the lawsuit seeks to block administrators accessing the ­assets of QNI Metals and QNI Resources, and “dealing with” the bank accounts of QN.

The action follows FTI Consulting issuing notices demanding payment of $190m from the joint-venture companies to help cover the $74m in entitlements owed by QN to nearly 800 sacked refinery workers and other debts owed to unsecured creditors.

QN was the manager of the refinery and the joint venture until last month, when Mr Palmer replaced it with another of his companies, Queensland Nickel Sales.

The injunction application will be heard this morning and seeks to have those notices declared invalid. Mr Palmer also wants to restrain FTI Consulting from appointing receivers to the joint-venture companies.

The appointment of receivers would be the first step in recovering money owed by QN.

QN creditors are expected to vote on Friday to place the company into liquidation. The lawsuit will not affect that vote.

It is understood the lawsuit also will not stop former workers claiming unpaid entitlements through the federal government’s Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme.

Late yesterday, Mr Palmer said he had commissioned financial services company PwC to ­complete and release an independent report into the solvency of QN “up until the appoint of an ­administrator”.

“We have commissioned PwC to complete and issue an independent report on Queensland Nickel Pty Ltd’s solvency up until the appointment of an administrator,” Mr Palmer told reporters.

“We will release such a report at the end of May 2016 when it’s completed,” he said.

The administrators found QN was insolvent as at November 27 last year, months before the company was placed into administration. The finding exposes Mr Palmer — as an alleged shadow director — and his nephew Clive Mensink to potential insolvent trading actions.

Mr Palmer blamed falling global nickel prices and a lack of government subsidies for the collapse of Queensland Nickel.

He said the government had withheld bailout funds from QN because of his status as a member of parliament.

The Yabulu refinery, near Townsville in north Queensland, has been shut since last month, and Mr Palmer said this week it would not reopen until at least the end of the year.

Almost 800 refinery workers have lost their jobs since January.