THE bankruptcy trustee for the banned liquidator Stuart Ariff will investigate whether Mr Ariff’s sister and brother-in-law bought a Newcastle commercial property from his family company below its true value in April.
Anthony Warner, a partner of CRS Warner Kugel, told creditors he was considering legal action to take control of the company, K & S Properties Newcastle Pty Ltd, so that he could wind it up and use a liquidator’s powers to investigate its sale in April.
Mr Ariff resigned as a director of K & S in July. All its shares are held by his wife, Kathleen Clark.
In a report circulated ahead of the first creditors’ meeting next week, Mr Warner said he had asked Ms Clark to transfer the shares to the bankrupt estate for a nominal sum.
”If Ms Clark does not co-operate, I will most likely make an application to the Supreme Court of NSW for the company to be wound up on just and equitable grounds,” Mr Warner’s report said.
Land titles show that the property, where Mr Ariff ran his insolvency practice until he was banned for life by the NSW Supreme Court in August, was sold to a company called Severndowns Pty Ltd for $700,000.
Severndowns is owned by Mr Ariff’s sister Yazni and her husband, David Venner, at whose Melbourne home Mr Ariff is living.
Mr Warner also told creditors he had reached an agreement with Ms Clark that the estate was entitled to half the proceeds from the recent sale of the couple’s home outside Newcastle, although it was held solely in Ms Clark’s name.
The six-bedroom house in Black Hill was sold for $950,000 on November 6.
Mr Warner said after the mortgages were repaid, he recovered $29,570 for the benefit of creditors.
Ms Clark and Mr Venner are among seven related-party creditors listed on Mr Ariff’s statement as to affairs lodged with the bankruptcy regulator last week.
Mr Ariff said he had borrowed $155,000 from Ms Clark, $50,000 from Mr Venner and $766,000 from other related parties including his parents and his sister Serina.
They appear to be outnumbered by Mr Ariff’s arm’s-length creditors, which include 16 companies owed $4.9 million in court-awarded compensation.
By Elisabeth Sexton, Sydney Morning Herald
December 11, 2009
