Bill Papas
Administrators appointed to the embattled Forum Group have revealed a lengthy list of at least 112 creditors that together claim to be owed more than $580 million by the company.
The Forum saga began to unravel in May following a discovery by Westpac of a significant potential fraud of more than $250 million involving allegations of forged customer invoices to obtain bank loans.
Forum Group and Forum Finance are just a couple of the many companies owned by Basile Papadimitriou – a.k.a Bill Papas – who is reported to have fled to Greece following Westpac’s investigation and subsequent civil proceedings.
Papas has since been spotted at his Thessaloniki apartment in Greece and has finally broken his silence after failing to meet multiple court deadlines.
He apologised, telling Justice Michael Lee, through a statement to his solicitor and lawyer representing him in court, that he had been suffering from contracting COVID-19, panic attacks and severe anxiety.
In one instance, Papas said he intends to “come back to Australia to clear his name” but not before revealing he was broke and needed his return trip to Greece and all expenses covered, if he was to step back into the country.
In a report lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the comprehensive creditor’s list includes HP Financial Services, claiming $22.4 million; Commonwealth Bank, claiming $9.7 million; Judo Bank, claiming $7.07 million; and Konica Minolta, claiming $806,930.
Also on the list is Ingram Micro, claiming $293,279; Dynamic Supplies, claiming $282,000; Capital Finance Australia, claiming $364,231; Octet Finance, claiming $1.83 million; Alloys International, claiming two amounts of $113,213 and $178,236; Synnex Australia, claiming $137,353; Westlawn Finance, claiming $778,420; Cloudwerx, claiming $254,318; and Macquarie Leasing, claiming $220,524.
Forum Group also had Forum Finance listed as a creditor, claiming $16.3 million; Forum Group Financial Services, claiming $75.89 million; Forum Enviro Aus, claiming $78.1 million and Forum Enviro Pty Ltd, claiming $21.06 million.
This is alongside Westpac’s initial $258 million exposure claim, Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui’s $98.9 million claim and French bank Société Générale, which estimates $9 million exposure.
Publicly-listed Thorn Group – which owns Radio Rentals – has also revealed to shareholders it was investigating its dealings following a potential exposure to Forum Group and Forum Finance to the tune of $2.2 million relating to equipment finance loans funded between 2013 to 2019.
Westpac and the Federal Court appointed Jason Ireland and Jason Preston of McGrathNicol as liquidators to Forum Finance on 9 July to investigate its assets and liabilities.
Freezing orders were also obtained, with Westpac extending the orders to Papas’ overseas assets as well as his Forum Finance business associate Vincenzo Tesoriero.
Papas appointed Domenico Calabretta, Thyge Trafford-Jones and Grahame Ward of Mackay Goodwin to Forum Group on the same day.
So far, Westpac has claimed it has uncovered more than 100 allegedly fraudulent transactions in two years, shifting millions into entities and assets owned by Papas and Tesoriero.
On 3 August, Papas filed documents detailing his assets including three jet skis and a camper trailer valued at $15,000 each; $206,000 in his NAB account and his multimillion-dollar NSW Central Coast residence.
Besides the Forum Group of Companies, Papas also owns another entity called Mazcon Investments, which holds multiple overseas assets, but Papas revealed he sold his shares in March, a claim of which Westpac lawyers have cast serious doubts, considering his current whereabouts.
It is understood the Forum Group of Companies stands as the parent company for a range of entities, including Forum Group; Forum Fleet; Forum Group Financial Services; Aramia Holdings; Autonomous Energy; Forum Direct; Forum Enviro; Imagetec Financial Services; Imagetec Solutions; Intrashield Investment Group; Iugis Waste Solutions; OneSource Australia; Orca Enviro Solutions; Orca Enviro Systems; Smart Fleet Management; Spartan Consulting Group; and Eros Management.
With consent from Westpac, NAB and Octet, Mackay Goodwin sold the managed IT services component of the company to Sydney-based IT and voice service provider Our Kloud, which is owned by Papas’ cousin Eric Constantinidis – a separate business that isn’t otherwise related to or associated with Forum Group.
The sale included 72 staff, ensuring employees can retain their entitlements to the tune of $1.6 million. Our Kloud only bought the right to continue to service the customer base, along with the company's goodwill. No physical assets of the company were sold in the $434,332 transaction.
Following the sale on 21 July, Mackay Goodwin recommended McGrath Nicol as replacement administrator as the firm has been chosen by Westpac, which has the most significant exposure in the group.
