Westpac took emergency court action late last month accusing Forum Finance of defrauding the bank by impersonating its customers. The alleged fraud has been described by a judge as “a long-running,calculated and elaborate fraud which would rank high in the catalogue of corporate misfeasance”.
The extent of Mr Papas’s estimated overseas assets has been laid bare in a report prepared by Westpac as part of its investigation that has been obtained byThe Age andThe Sydney Morning Herald.
The 342-page report details the vast business interests of Mr Papas that includes companies registered in Singapore,Greece,Germany and New Zealand. According to the report,Mr Papas’ wholly-owned Greek-registered company Mazcon owns four properties in the Greek port city of Thessaloniki. This includes two sprawling apartments on coastal road Alexander the Great Boulevard that overlook the Aegean sea.
Mazcon also owns two office suites in Thessaloniki’s business district.
Westpac has also won freezing orders over a$40 million portfolio of property,that includes luxury homes in Melbourne and Sydney and petrol stations in tiny Victorian towns.
The report also includes details of Mr Papas’ racing car. The Federal Court has previously heard that Westpac hired a private investigator who witnessed Mr Papas and his business partner Vincenzo Tesoriero driving racing Audis.
Westpac now alleges that Mr Papas owns a latest-specification Audi R8 LMS EVO. Photos of the car in the report show it is sponsored by iugis – Mr Papas’s waste company.