This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
ASIC is taking legal action against five former directors of Australian Property Custodian Holdings Ltd (APCHL) over the collapse of Prime Trust, after the liquidators uncovered that the directors had paid themselves $33 million in "listing fees".
On 18 October 2010, voluntary administrators were appointed to APCHL. On 23 November 2011 Stirling Horne and Petr Vrescky of Lawler Draper Dillon were appointed liquidators following the creditors voting to place the company into liquidation. Approximately 9,700 investors contributed over $500 million in the Prime Trust.
On 5 March 2012, the liquidators commenced proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria in relation to the payment of a listing fee in the amount of $32,939,947 by APCH in its capacity as responsible entity of the Trust to entities associated with William Lewski in 2008 (the Listing Fee Proceeding). One of the receivers and managers of APCH has now taken over conduct of the Listing Fee Proceeding from the liquidators.
ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court to disqualify five directors from managing corporations and they are:
· William Lionel Lewski, a former director and company secretary;
· Mark Frederick Butler, a former director;
· Kim Jaques, a former director;
· Michael Richard Lewis Wooldridge, a former non-executive director; and
· Peter Clarke, a former director.
ASIC alleges, amongst other things, that APCHL and its directors failed to act in the best interests of the members of the Prime Trust by:
· purporting to amend the Prime Trust constitution to provide for the payment to APCHL of a fee in the event that the units in the Prime Trust were listed on the Australian Securities Exchange; and
· by directing APCHL to pay a listing fee of approximately $33 million out of scheme assets.
Property Review
