Grant Thornton excoriated over Arrium

Westpac restructuring chief
Gwyn Morgan. 

HELL hath no fury like a banker denied the voluntary administrator (VA) of his choice, as Grant Thornton's Paul Billingham discovered during his truncated tenure as VA of Arrium.

As a result of accepting the appointment, SiN understands at least four receiverships were lopped from GT's advisory division in a day.

The axe was wielded by Westpac's restructuring chief Gwyn Morgan, who wanted good mate Peter Andersen's firm McGrathNicol installed to recast Arrium's slag heap of unsecured debt into an LME-grade recapitalisation. 

Morgan was apparently apoplectic when GT consented to act. SiN understands he expressed his displeasure by phone. Andersen - perhaps unwilling to have his own high dudgeon eclipsed - sent a "strongly worded" email.

Of course, such a set of events presumes that Westpac and the other three major banks - squirming on the hook for a collective $1 billion unsecured - believed McGrathNicol could be seen to act for all creditors with the appearance of independence.

Arrest warrants voided as accountants appear

From Left: Bill Gertos, solicitor James Jordan
Therese Alha and Constantine Savell
Photo: SiN Images

APPARENTLY they never knew. About the summonses to attend for public examinations, about the orders to produce documents or about the warrants for their arrest, issued after the summonses expired uncomplied with. Accountants Bill Gertos, Constantine Savell and Therese Alha. No idea.

The Federal Court heard as much last Friday in room 19c around 3.00pm. Registrar Chaun Ng warned the three that they must appear when summonsed. Seated in the front row of the public gallery, Gertos said that if he had known about the summons, "I would've been here".

The three, all connected to Camperdown firm Gertos Savell Katos (GSK), were originally summonsed to appear on Monday, November 23, 2015.

Lawyers acting for creditors of bankrupt artistic agent Dolores Lavin are keen to scrutinise arrangements which have seen title to a $3.8 million Potts Point apartment pass from a family trust controlled by Lavin as trustee to a family trust controlled by a trustee company called Billy Buckle Pty Ltd controlled by Gertos.

Of the three only Savell was delivered to the court under arrest. His lawyer James Jordan portrayed it as unfortunate and unnecessary, telling the registrar that five minutes after Savell had advised him he was preparing to surrender voluntarily, a pair of agents from the Australian Federal Police executed the warrant and brought him in. Alha and Gertos surrendered voluntarily.

Unaccustomed to issuing arrest warrants, Registrar Ng accepted undertakings from the three to comply with their summonses and declared the arrest warrants void. The summonses now require Gertos and Savell to produce documents and Alha to present herself for examination tomorrow.

Toppi seeking to bankrupt ex-bestie

Luxe Studios is now at 279 - 283 Liverpool Street
Photo: SiN Images

Paola Toppi's lawyers will appeal a judgement handed down in the Federal Circuit Court last week which further delays bankruptcy proceedings the Sydney restaurateur initiated last year against her former friend, the photographic agent Dolores Lavin.

Philip Beazley of Beazley Singleton Lawyers, confirmed yesterday that he will file an appeal on behalf of Toppi against the June 13, 2014 judgement of Nicholas Manousaridis.

The judge ruled last week that the period for compliance with a bankruptcy notice served on Lavin by Toppi and her husband Neil Cunningham on November 29, 2013 be extended for a fourth time to allow Lavin to make an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court.

Lavin is seeking to appeal the decision of the NSW Supreme Court of Appeal, which last month dismissed her application to have an earlier judgement ordering her to pay Toppi $871,016.56c overturned.

The earlier judgement, handed down on September 12, 2013, gave Toppi and Cunningham the green light to serve Lavin with the bankruptcy notice but by the time they did, Lavin had already filed an appeal. 

Since then, Lavin has applied to have the period for compliance with the bankruptcy notice extended three times while waiting for her appeal to be heard. In the course of obtaining extensions, Lavin has also won an order staying execution of the Supreme Court judgement. But the Court of Appeal dismissed her application on May 23, 2014. 

According to the Manousaridis judgement of June 13, the extensions in the notice compliance period have been essential in enabling Lavin to avoid committing an act of bankruptcy, an event which would potentially expose her to devastating loss.

Terrorism expertise no protection against debt threats

ACCORDING to her LinkedIn profile, Nessa Doyle is a senior account manager at Westpac specialising in anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing.

That expertise has not however saved the Bondi resident from threats to her personal solvency.

That's why she approached O'Brien Palmer's Chris Palmer about a Personal Insolvency Agreement (PIA).

O'Brien told SiN that he didn't anticipate any serious opposition to Doyle's PIA. Thankfully, Doyle's work at Westpac can continue unencumbered.

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