Documents Indicate Pot of Westpoint Boss Gold
Documents Indicate Pot of Westpoint Boss Gold
December 8, 2006: Former Westpoint boss Norm Carey, had a spot of memory loss when he faced questioning over documents that ASIC claim indicate the true extent of his assets.
Norm Carey is accused of taking $11 million from Westpoint in the months before its collapse earlier this year. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is now on a mission to reclaim assets for investors who lost out in the collapse. With investigations continuing in the Federal Court in Perth, ASIC has produced a number of documents and questioned Carey in an attempt to prove the true extent of his financial assets.
ASIC layer Stephen Owen-Conway quizzed Carey extensively in the witness box this week as Carey repeatedly told the court he could not recall the documents at the centre of questioning. Carey chased time as his defence, and attempted to delay the session by suggesting he had not had enough time to review the documents.
Time was not given and Carey instead suggested that ASIC’s line of questioning was irrelevant. “There is no pot of gold here,” he told the court.
ASIC believes Carey still holds significant cash funds, citing records obtained from a trust called ‘Holter.” Despite Carey’s claims to not recall any dealings with the trust, ASIC continued to produce transfer documents that Carey continued to not remember.
But Carey could not escape the documents unveiled yesterday which ASIC claim; prove Carey is the main beneficiary for the Channel Island trust account holding over $160,000.
Already ASIC has obtained orders from the court to wind up a group of companies associated with Carey and Westpoint. As of this morning, 14 companies in total had been given the orders. Jan Redfern, Executive Director of Enforcement said in a statement yesterday, “ASIC welcomes the findings of Justice Fench as an important step in unravelling the complex network of companies left behind by the collapse of the Westpoint Group.”
The call to the court requesting insolvency of the companies came early this year when ASIC commenced two separate court actions. At this point, ASIC said the evidence it had available indicated that the companies were insolvent and should therefore not be able to operate. While Carey argued under oath that the companies were solvent, it was a defence that ASIC said contradicted documentary evidence.
The hearing continues. For Carey, he is alone in the process, telling the court that he can not afford a legal representation.