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Queensland Nickel's liquidator has won a Supreme Court bid to freeze Clive Palmer's personal assets in an effort to recover millions of dollars from the 2016 collapse of the north Queensland refinery.
Federal Government-appointed liquidator PPB Advisory sought an injunction in August to restrain the former federal MP from selling or spending more than $200 million in assets.
It is trying to claw back $70 million in taxpayer funds paid to sacked Townsville refinery workers.
More than 800 lost their jobs when the refinery collapsed.
Justice John Bond granted the order to freeze the assets of Mr Palmer and several of his companies.
Mr Palmer's lawyers immediately asked for a stay of the judgment pending an appeal.
Mr Palmer did not appear in court for the ruling.
In his written decision, Justice Bond said the orders "apply until final judgment or further order in the proceeding".
"In Mr Palmer's case the value specified was $204,943,664.39 but other amounts were specified for the companies concerned," Justice Bond said.
Lawyers for PPB Advisory had previously argued there was a "real risk" Mr Palmer's assets were being sold, pointing to the sale of his Brisbane headquarters Mineralogy House, worth $23 million.
His assets include planes, vintage cars, golf courses and a string of multi-million-dollar properties.
Mr Palmer has previously labelled the court bid a "political witch hunt" and said he had no intention of leaving Australia.
Justice Bond said the asset freeze would be subject to numerous exceptions, "including that it does not prohibit dealing with or disposing of assets in the ordinary and proper course of business, including by paying business expenses bona fide and properly incurred".
"There are particular aspects of Mr Palmer's previous conduct and decision making which would lead a prudent, sensible commercial person to infer that there is a real risk that he would take, or cause to be taken, steps outside court processes to attempt to frustrate or inhibit the prospects of enforcement or execution of any significant judgment against him or any of his companies," Justice Bond said.
"There is no certainty that that is what would occur.
"Indeed, I am not in a position to conclude that it is more probable than not that that is what Mr Palmer would do.
"But, endeavouring to take account of all the evidence before me, and conscious of the degree of care that I am obliged to take in applications of this nature, I nevertheless conclude that there is a real risk that he would."
Topics: courts-and-trials, law-crime-and-justice, company-news, business-economics-and-finance, clive-palmer, person, brisbane-4000, townsville-4810, qld, australia
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