The total the bank says Bill Papas stole from it now sits at $296 million
Westpac has expanded on its accusations against alleged fraudster Bill Papas and his company, Forum Finance.
Westpac has accused Forum Finance of forging signatures of staff at French company Veolia’s New Zealand offices on phony contracts, bilking another $44 million from the bank, according to a report by The Sydney Morning Herald.
Westpac also expanded its claim for Papas’ overseas holdings to include claims for damages to Mazcon, the Greek company that holds much of Papas’ overseas assets. Westpac alleged that Mazcon received as much as $16 million as part of the alleged fraud.
Westpac also claimed that Papas’ business partner, Vince Tesoriero, received up to $28 million in cash connected to the case. That money excludes the considerable property portfolio Tesoriero and Papas acquired during the alleged fraud, the Herald reported.
Westpac also expanded its claim to include a separate legal action it had been taking against Forum’s New Zealand entities. The bank has also added 21 new companies owned by Papas and Tesoriero to its claim. Eighteen of those companies were already subject to freezing orders and own a portfolio of luxury property and petrol stations in Victoria, the Herald reported.
“The total amount that Westpac and WNZL [Westpac New Zealand] have identified as being fraudulently obtained by Mr Papas directly or indirectly through his involvement in the scheme is at least $40.225 million, which excludes funds fraudulently obtained and used to acquire other property such as boats and cars,” Westpac said in its 544-page court filing.
Last month, the Herald reported that Papas and Tesoriero had allegedly used fraudulently obtained money to buy property worth $60 million. The paper also discovered that Papas overseas assets included two seaside apartments in Greece worth a reported $10 million and a vast number of cars.
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Westpac’s filing also singled out Tesoriero.
“The total amount that Westpac and Westpac New Zealand have currently identified as being fraudulently obtained by Mr Tesoriero through his involvement in the scheme is $28.478 million, which excludes funds fraudulently obtained and used to acquire other property such as boats and cars,” the bank said.
Tesoriero is also subject to global freezing orders. He recently told the Federal Court that the money he received from Papas and Forum was in return for his $10 million seed investment in the company.
Westpac’s total claim against Papas is now $296 million, including $254 million from the bank’s Australian business and NZ$44 million from its New Zealand operation, the Herald reported. Japanese bank Sumitomo claims Papas bilked it out of $100 million, while French bank Société Générale says it was cheated out of $8 million.
