Gold project spruiker Colin Oxlade’s failed company has no assets to speak of

Gold project spruiker Colin Oxlade begged a court not to liquidate his company because he had $12.5m in payments just days away - but the outfit had less than $100 in the bank.

Dr Sarah McEwan forced Colin Oxalde’s company into liquidation. Picture: Supplied.

Gold project spruiker Colin Oxlade’s failed company had less than $100 in the bank when it was wound up, after a disgruntled investor who was promised huge returns forced it into liquidation.

Dr Sarah McEwan, who invested $75,000 into a Papua New Guinea gold project being promoted by Oxlade - and promoted by Queensland-based Impact Gold - applied in March for Ox Consolidated Holdings to be wound up after several failed attempts to get her money back.

Oxlade had promised Dr McEwan and her brother astronomical returns, and after investing against her better judgment, Dr McEwan applied for a winding up order for the company after the promised dividends failed to eventuate.

Oxlade told the federal court at the time he was “awaiting a train shipment of precious metals to be delivered to Melbourne Refinery Group in Melbourne” - a company which does not appear to exist - after which he would be paid $12.5m.

The company was wound up by the court in mid-March and a liquidator appointed, and Oxlade has failed to follow through on his promise to pay Dr McEwan.

Colin Oxlade.

A liquidator’s report filed in recent days indicates Dr McEwan and other creditors are unlikely to see a return, and liquidator Alice Ruhe from SMB Advisory says her investigations have been hampered by the failure of the sole director, Jan Sloane, to provide her with the company’s books and records.

Oxlade is a shareholder in the company. He was a director for just more than a year until June 8, 2017, when he was banned from being a director for five years by the corporate regulator ASIC for his involvement in three companies, Ox Marketing, Vanilla Management and Investment group and Africa Uranium, which owed “substantial” amounts to creditors, ASIC said at the time.

The liquidator’s report into Ox Consolidated Holdings indicates that the company had assets worth just $1044, including just $95 in the bank. The liquidator’s investigations concluded this figure was more likely $44.17.

The company’s debts ran to $611,798, however Oxlade himself is claiming to be owed $420,000.

Mr Sloane said in his report on company activities and property (ROCAP) supplied to the liquidator that the company was owed $61,097 by the Australian Taxation Office, however Ms Ruhe said her investigations indicated the company actually owed the ATO $29,906.

Ms Ruhe said her investigations had been hindered by “a lack of books and records of the company provided to me to date’’.

“I have sought the assistance of ASIC to obtain the books and records of the company from the director,’’ the report says.

“At the date of this report, I have not yet received the books and records of the company.’’

The report says that after reviewing the company’s bank statements, there were 517 transactions which required further investigation.

“These transactions involve the receipt of funds from investors, the purported investment of

these funds, the payment of commissions, the loaning of funds to various parties, payments to

family members of a former director of the company and a significant number of transactions

which appear to be personal expenditure of a former director of the company and members of

his family,’’ the report says.

“The director disclosed in his ROCAP that the company’s bank accounts were used for

personal expenses and that any transactions relating to same were treated as repayments of

loans from a former director of the company.

“I have requested that the director provide explanations and supporting documentation in relation to the transactions identified to date.

“At the date of this report, I have not yet received the explanations and supporting documentation sought. I will continue to liaise with the director in this regard.

“At the date of this report, it is anticipated that insufficient funds will be realised to pay a

dividend to creditors of the company.’’

The report says that while it was not disclosed in the director’s ROCAP, an ASIC search indicated the company owned 2278 shares in Warwick Gold.

Warwick Gold is operated by twice-bankrupt company director David Catsoulis, who is also the promoter of the PNG gold project Dr McEwan was purportedly investing in.

That project is owned by Mr Catsoulis’ other company Impact Gold, which claims to have identified the largest gold resource in the world in the PNG highlands, using the little-known “Resonance Frequency Geo Technology” (RFGT) which it says it has proprietary access to. Mr Catsoulis has previously claimed the company’s total in ground minerals resource at about $100bn.

Mr Catsoulis has previously told The Australian that Oxlade no longer raises capital for the company and if he is indeed raising capital, it is using his own shares, not as an associate of Impact Gold.

The liquidators’ report says investigations indicate the Warwick Gold shares may have been sold.

“On 18 May 2023, I received correspondence from a representative of Warwick Gold advising

that the company is not a shareholder of Warwick Gold and that Warwick Gold’s former

external accountants, who were terminated in April 2023, were responsible for lodging

shareholder updates with ASIC and had failed to lodge the necessary documents to maintain

the shareholder register.

“The correspondence did not detail when the company’s shares were sold, the quantum of the sale proceeds or where the sale proceeds were paid, other than providing a shareholder statement detailing that the company held no shares in Warwick Gold from at least 1 December, 2022.’’

Warwick Gold’s shareholder register still indicates Ox Consolidated is a shareholder.

The report says the company did appear to derive its income from raising investor capital.

“The director disclosed in his ROCAP that the company received commissions on the sale of

third-party securities to sophisticated investors, purchased and sold shares and provided

loans to unlisted start-up companies,’’ the report says.

The liquidator says more investigations are needed to determine whether the company was trading insolvent and whether there had been unreasonable director-related transactions, however the liquidation was currently without funds, which would need to be supplied by creditors for further investigations to be carried out.
Mr Sloane could not be contacted. Oxlade was contacted for comment but declined to comment before press time.

Originally published as Gold project spruiker Colin Oxlade’s failed company has no assets to speak of