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Computers and security equipment were removed from Bestjet's offices before administrators swooped on the failed online booking portal, a creditors report has claimed.
Key points:
- Administrators believe former Air Australia boss Michael James could have acted as shadow director at Bestjet
- Mr James has consistently denied this
- Administrators claim their investigations into Bestjet have been made "unnecessarily difficult"
The explosive report by Bestjet's administrators Pilot Partners said former Air Australia boss Michael James may have been a "shadow director" at Bestjet.
Bestjet customers were left out of pocket when the company went into voluntary administration before Christmas.
Mr James helped run Air Australia before it folded in February 2012, leaving debts of nearly $100 million.
Bestjet was set up in his wife Rachel's name about two weeks later.
In 2013, ASIC banned Mr James from managing corporations for three years.
He has consistently denied being a de facto Bestjet director.
The Pilot Partners report said initial investigations into Bestjet's finances had proved "unnecessarily difficult".
The report claimed security equipment had been removed from the company's Brisbane headquarters and that Queensland Police had been notified.
"It is currently unclear who removed this equipment from the company's premises," joint administrator Nigel Markey said in the report.
Creditors owed more than $10m
Pilot Partners' report also claimed some of Bestjet's records were "largely incomplete".
The company changed hands in November and according to the report, Bestjet's new director, Robert McVicker, referred questions about the company's operation to Mr James, who denied having any records.
"Mr and Ms James have failed to respond to our various enquires regarding the company's affairs," the report said.
Company records indicate there are 4,684 ordinary unsecured creditors lining up with claims estimated to be worth almost $10.8 million.
The report said that Bestjet was liquidated by Mr McVicker after an affiliated company — Bestjet Singapore — failed to stump up a $3.2 million payment.
Pilot Partners said as that company was registered in Singapore, they had no control over it.
Bestjet appeared to have been trading while insolvent from early December, the report said.
The next creditors meeting will be held in Brisbane on January 31.
Mr and Ms James have both declined to comment.
Topics: crime, law-crime-and-justice, air-transport, industry, sydney-2000
First posted