Clive Palmer’s nephew and former QN director fails to appear to answer a summons after travelling overseas continuously since June

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Queensland Nickel’s special purpose liquidators will apply for an arrest warrant for Clive Mensink after the sole director of the collapsed company failed to appear for questioning in the federal court.

Mensink, who remained overseas, had “shown absolute contempt in not appearing today,” barrister David De Jersey for PPB Advisory told the court in Brisbane on Wednesday.

De Jersey said Mensink’s explanations in sworn statements citing medical grounds for not returning were “unmeritorious entirely”.

“It is in the interests of justice that this issue be dealt with very promptly,” he said.

Mensink, the nephew of QN’s owner Clive Palmer, has been on an around-the-world holiday since last year, after the company’s collapse left almost 800 jobless and debts of $300m.

PPB, representing the federal government which is owed $70m for covering worker entitlements for QN, will apply for a warrant for Mensink’s arrest on Thursday before federal court justice John Dowsett.

It comes after a lawyer for liquidator FTI Consulting, acting for other creditors, said it may consider applying for an arrest warrant for Mensink after he failed to answer a summons to appear on Tuesday.

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Palmer told the court last September that Mensink was on an Arctic cruise from Helsinki to St Petersburg. He has also been spotted by Australian tourists on a cruise off the coast of South America, the Australian has reported.

Barrister Walter Sofronoff, for FTI Consulting, asked the court on Tuesday to adjourn Mensink’s examination on a date to be fixed, flagging a possible application for an arrest warrant.

Federal court registrar Murray Belcher, who is overseeing the hearing, said he would have to refer an application to a judge as he didn’t have the power to issue a warrant under corporations law.

Mensink’s solicitor, Sam Iskander, later told reporters that his client was overseas but he did not know what country he was in.

The date of Mensink’s appearance is yet to be fixed.

Mensink, the sole registered director of Queensland Nickel faces the possibility of civil or criminal penalties if the company is shown to have traded while insolvent.

Liquidators allege his uncle, Palmer, acted as a “shadow director” who could be liable for breaches of corporation law but Palmer has consistently denied any wrongdoing.

The court heard in September that weeks before Queensland Nickel’s collapse, Palmer warned Mensink to stop contacting him by email or it would “fuck everything”.

The court heard the email on 29 November 2015 read: “I told you what to do. Do it. Do not send me anything to cover your arse or you fuck everything. Do not contact me by email again.”

Palmer has told the court he did not know what the email referred to and he would need to see the context.

He has said his nephew was taking an extended overseas vacation after a relationship breakdown.