Mystery Kyrgyzstani woman’s Clive Palmer payday

Queensland Nickel paid a Kyrgyzstani woman $1 million on the orders of Clive Palmer, a court has been told.

Evgenia Bednova and, inset, Clive Palmer.

Clive Palmer “personally ­requested” Queensland Nickel’s chief financial officer to urgently funnel $1 million to mysterious Kyrgyzstani woman Evgenia Bednova for the alleged purpose of “representation fees” in ­November 2012, a court has heard.

But Queensland Nickel’s taxpayer-funded liquidators have raised doubts about that justification, stating in court documents that they could not find any “independent credible records that the payment represented a payment of goods or services in discharge of some third-party debt”.

A letter from Mr Palmer to Queensland Nickel CFO Daren Wolfe, dated November 29, 2012, and written on QN letterhead, was tendered to the court, asking Mr Wolfe to make nine payments worth more than $40m to various parties, the first being to Ms Bednova. “The following funds transfers are required to be completed at the earliest opportunity,” Mr Palmer wrote. “Thes (sic) should be denominated in either Australian dollars or US dollars depending on the account from which the funds are taken. Please transfer $1 million dollars (one million) to beneficiary Bednova Evgenia … Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan … purpose: representation fees.”

Mr Palmer also allegedly ordered Mr Wolfe to transfer $15m to his Bora Bora resort for “operational funding”, $4.5m in two payments to a woman called Zhenghong Zhang for “representation fees”, and $15m to Mr Palmer’s Hong Kong account with the Standard Chartered Bank.

Special purpose liquidators PPB Advisory are suing Mr ­Palmer, Ms Bednova, the company that owns his Bora Bora ­resort, and other defendants over the collapse of Queensland ­Nickel, which failed last year owing creditors more than $300m and costing nearly 800 workers their jobs.

Mr Palmer has denied any wrongdoing in relation to the lawsuit, which claims he personally owes $73m and should pay an extra $13m in personal damages for allowing the company to trade while insolvent.

The swag of Queensland ­Supreme Court documents filed in relation to the claim also reveal Mr Palmer forgot he owned the Bora Bora resort in sworn evidence to the Federal Court last year. Jeff Smith, one of Mr Palmer’s lawyers, wrote to liquidators’ solicitor Emma Costello on September 19, admitting Mr Palmer was mistaken when he told the court during cross-examination that he did not own any overseas property.

“During the examination of Mr Palmer on Friday, September 16, 2016 Mr Palmer was asked if he owned property overseas to which he ­replied in the negative,” Mr Smith wrote. “I am instructed that Mr Palmer’s answer was incorrect. Mr Palmer did not recall during the examination that he holds property in his own name that is located in French Polynesia. On reflection, Mr Palmer has realised his mistake.”

It is not clear whether liquidators have successfully served the lawsuit on four foreign defendants, including Ms Bednova, Ms Zhang, Mr Palmer’s father-in-law Alex Sokolov and Sci Le Coeur de L’Ocean, the company that owns the Bora Bora resort.

Unless Mr Palmer repays the money he ordered Queensland Nickel to pay to Ms Bednova and Ms Zhang, the women may be compelled to repay the money to help reimburse Queensland Nickel’s creditors.

Liquidators are also seeking the court’s permission to subpoena the Standard Charter Bank, the holder of Mr Palmer’s Hong Kong bank account.