Millionaire business mogul and former politician Clive Palmer is facing criminal charges relating to a failed takeover by his Sunshine Coast resort, following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
Charged with aiding, abetting, or counselling the commission of an offence by another person, ASIC alleges Mr Palmer's Palmer Leisure Coolum had breached the Corporations Act when it publicly proposed a takeover bid for a company operating a timeshare scheme — but failed to deliver an offer.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of two years' imprisonment and a fine of $11,000 for an individual and $55,000 for a corporation.
Palmer bought Coolum Resort in 2011, and it is known to many as the home of his now-defunct "dinosaur theme park".
The oil magnate's barrister Chris Wilson said Palmer would likely call for the charges to be thrown out when the case is back in court on June 13.
On Friday afternoon, Palmer released a statement on his Facebook account vowing to fight the charges, saying they were brought against him for political purposes. Palmer also claimed that Tony Hartnell, the inaugural chairman of ASIC, had told him the charges were "doomed to fail".
"The charges relate to matters that are alleged to have happened nearly six years ago in respect of an offer by one my companies to buy around $4,000 of shares," said the Palmer statement.
“The charges are an attempt to try to make me ineligible to stand for parliament and they won’t succeed."