The Federal Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of alleged fraudster Bill Papas, paving the way for his extradition from Greece, after he "repeatedly disobeyed" court orders.

The application was filed by Westpac, which said it had lost $290 million due to a fraudulent scheme allegedly orchestrated by Mr Papas and his equipment leasing company, Forum Finance, which is in liquidation.

The bank is also seeking orders for Mr Papas to be held in contempt of court. However, that requires him to be formally served with legal documents, and he has not provided an "address for service".

Westpac argued Mr Papas breached freezing orders on his assets worldwide by transferring $720,000 to his cousin Eric Constantinidis in early July via an online share trading account, and that he was trying to avoid being served.

"There is no basis, let alone a reasonable basis, for thinking that Mr Papas is likely to return from Greece to Australia on any firm date," Justice Michael Lee said in a hearing on Wednesday.

“His conduct in relation to this proceeding has been a less than satisfactory … He has repeatedly disobeyed court orders for the filing of material and provided less than satisfactory information to his solicitors."

Unlikely to be 'short of funds'

Justice Lee also considered evidence of Mr Papas's spending habits, based on his American Express credit card statements.

He noted that Mr Papas, who was formerly the president of Sydney Olympic Football Club,  had spent more than $10,000 on high-end experiences in recent months.

They included a business-class airfare from Paris and short stays at luxury hotels — Hotel GE and Danai Beach Resort in Athens.

“It does not look like he was at the back of a plane. Let's put it that way," Justice Lee said.

"I’m satisfied on the evidence that, had he wished to return to Australia, there is no doubt that he would have had access to sufficient funds in order to allow him to do so."

Papas not 'seeking to actively engage'

The Sydney businessman, whose real name is Basile Papadimitriou, left the country in June.

He is currently residing in in the seaside city of Thessaloniki, in Greece, where he owns several luxury apartments.

His departure occurred about the same time Westpac and two other lenders, Sumitomo and Société Générale, discovered they had lost about $400 million from fake contracts and forged signatures allegedly linked to Mr Papas's company.

In previous hearings, Mr Papas told the court through his lawyers he would fly back to Sydney. But he did not end up boarding his flight in July because, he said, he had contracted COVID-19.

The businessman then said he could not afford to fly home because tickets had become too expensive due to Australia's cap on international arrivals.

Earlier this month, Mr Papas's solicitor, Rocco Panetta, stopped representing him. He did not explain his reasons.

Mr Papas also disabled his Australian mobile phone number and personal email account, which has made it difficult for the aggrieved banks to contact him.

That led to Mr Panetta being summoned in court, where he was ordered to disclose his former client's Greek mobile number.

“Further, despite being obliged to do so when he solicited a filing a notice of ceasing to act, Mr Papas has not filed any updated notice of address for service, and no steps have been taken by Mr Papas to ensure that those acting for Westpac can contact him in relation to the proceedings," Justice Lee said.