The corporate regulator has urgently sought orders to restrain the sole director of Palentia, a company formerly known as Kebbel, from leaving the country following a tip-off that the director of the company, which is feared to be insolvent, planned to leave Australia and take up residence in the USA.
On Wednesday May 31, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) received anonymous information that Neil Austin Burnard intended to emigrate from Australia to the USA.
Burnard told the regulator on Wednesday that he was intending to travel overseas early the following week, but that he would be available to speak to ASIC investigators.
However, on Friday June 2, ASIC learned that Burnard had boarded a plane for the USA early that morning.
The regulator made urgent applications to the Supreme Court of New South Wales after being informed by airport authorities that Burnard’s plane had not departed Australia.
The court ordered that Burnard be restrained from leaving Australia and from coming within 500 metres of an Australian point of departure until June 13, 2006.
It also ordered Burnard to surrender his passports and any unused airline tickets concerning travel arrangements made for the next 12 months.
The orders also froze Burnard’s personal assets, along with the assets of Palentia and a related company, Tenala, until June 13, 2006.
However, after the orders were made, ASIC was told Burnard had left on an earlier flight.
On Sunday June 4, Burnard returned to Australia having been refused entry to the USA.
The regulator had been concerned that Palentia had recently ceased to trade, had abandoned its registered office and may be insolvent.
Palentia formed part of the Kebbel group of companies, which described itself as a provider of fundraising services in property-related investments.
One of the directors of the Kebbel group, Richard Beck, was also a director of several Westpoint companies.
Beck is the subject of orders made by the Federal Court of Australia in Perth, including a receivership order, obtained by ASIC.
ASIC alleges Palentia was involved in raising funds of more than $100 million for Westpoint from retail investors, mainly in NSW and Queensland, and earned commissions from Westpoint of approximately $6.5 million.
The regulator’s investigation is continuing.
