Dural Alliances Pty Ltd in Liquidation: Insights into Public Interest and Corporate Insolvency

revised in part on 15 and 16 December 2020 by Mark Smith

Below are the personal opinions (unless stated otherwise) of Mark Smith.

Public interest

Dural's director is Ralph Ignatius Paligaru. Ralph purports to have connections to people in extremely high public offices in Fiji - Cabinet Ministers some having, he claims, attended a Marist College as a Schoolboy in Fiji where he has said that he formed relationships with persons later coming to occupy, as I mentioned, high public offices in Fiji. It is believed that some of these connections include to persons within the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Fiji Hardwood Corporation and a number of Government Departments and elsewhere. It is believed some of the below may be of public interest to those trading with persons and dealing with government officials, in some instances, in Fiji as well as interest to foreign persons providing aid or other support to Fiji or otherwise. It may also be of interest to Australians & Chinese - Australia contributes a substantial sum of aid to Fiji (China is also reported to provide aid to Fiji), so naturally have an interest in the good governance of the Country of Fiji - one of Australia's regional neighbours together with an interest in efficient and proper utilisation of the Aid provided by our nation to Fiji. Regrettably, Fiji, it is reported, has corruption problems as do other countries within the region. The below may also be in the public interest of persons from or interested in India. The public interest of Australia may also be involved - Ralph and his employer (discussed throughout this blog, a man named Mohan Kumar) lobbied and received Visa's and had other legitimate dealings with officials and public office holders in Australia. The solvency of corporations in Australia, their proper or improper registration of companies or otherwise, to provision of finance guaranteed by "mums and dads", the rates of interest charged (in this case compounding at 6% PER MONTH IN DEFAULT, e.g. >72% per annum) and other factors are also believed to be of public interest.

About the company and its director

Ralph is the public officer of a company named Mills Management Fiji Pte Ltd - company search available here. The search records the registered address of Mills Management as Dreketi, Labasa, Fiji. The asset - Mill - that Mills Management Fiji Pte Ltd runs - is the Dreketi Mill, Dreketi, Labasa, Fiji.

As mentioned, Ralph is also a former director of Dural Alliances Pty Ltd (in liquidation).

Dural Alliances Pty Ltd was incorporated on 28 July 2017 with Ralph's as its director and secretary. Craig Adams was, according to Ralph, involved in the registration of this company later obtaining the consent of Ralph. Later Ralph gave sworn evidence to the NSW Supreme Court, in part stating the followings:

Dural Alliances was placed into liquidation by order of the Federal Court of Australia - click here to view court order. The Plaintiff in the windup was DCP Litigation Holdings Pty Ltd.

Particulars of the debt and proof owed by Dural to DCP Litigation can be found here (the debt was not disputed, the windup was not opposed).

Dural, Ralph caused funds to be borrowed of $540,000 using their family home at 88 Perfection Ave, Stanhope Gardens as security for the loan advanced by Franklin Yeezy Holdings Pty Ltd.

A mortgage (variations sought by John Mahony of Mahony Law) and a deed (the deed preparation appears to have been witnessed by the Paligaru's solicitor John Mahony of Mahony Law) and the Deed purports to have been entered in August 2017, a couple of days before the Franklin Yeezy advance. The mortgage of Franklin Yeezy was prepared, to the best of my knowledge by David Lalic of Strategic Legal. Ralph gave sworn evidence that Mahony Law was paid for their services as follows:

Pursuant to the deed, Dural, Ralph apparently received a charge over land belonging to Craig Adam's company Golden Arrow International Pty Ltd as security, being land in Warriewood in return for the sum of $540,000. The deed was entered on or about 4 August 2017 - apparently in front of his solicitor John Mahony of Mahony Law, however a caveat was not registered until about 6 December 2017 - some 4 months later - click here to view the caveat.

Related facts? Missing facts? Missing motive?

Precisely what would motivate Ralph to mortgage their house (where the default interest rate was compounding at 6% PER MONTH, i.e. >72% pa?)

Prior to entry into the Franklin Yeezy mortgage, Ralph entered Heads of Agreement (discussed in the Profile of Ralph Paligaru - click here to view) - which appears to have been signed around 24 April 2016. Ralph was Power of Attorney for Mohan Kumar and in the following weeks (May 2016) Ralph used his Power of Attorney for Mohan Kumar to execute a contract of sale to sell Kumar's Dural Land to Craig's company - Bargo - ASIC search available here. The writer does not suggest the election to sell was not the legitimate wish of Kumar.

It is clear from the ASIC search that neither Ralph nor Mohan Kumar were ever the registered owner of any shares in Bargo although the vendor terms / mortgage between Mohan Kumar and Bargo entitled the vendor to accept shares in Bargo under certain circumstances (e.g. if Bargo was in default) - see mortgage.

Moreover, Craig Adams provided to Ralph (POA for Kumar) all the shares in Bargo as security for a vendor loan (if Bargo was in default under the $4m vendor loan?).

To the best information of the writer, neither Mohan Kumar nor Ralph elected to transfer or accept shares (or transfer the Bargo shares despite holding a signed transfer available to transfer the shares to whoever they'd like under the vendor mortgage / terms.

It is unknown what happened to the Heads of Agreement - it is unknown or unclear from the Heads of Agreement if Craig (or Ralph) held any shares 'on trust' for another person or persons - e.g. Mohan Kumar?

Ralph made written and then oral admissions to me in mid 2017 that the Heads of Agreement was "my deal" - click here to view the email containing this admission.

But this still does not explain why Ralph mortgaged their house and provided $540,000 to Craig or for the benefit of Craig? The precise benefit (if any) that Ralph thought they would receive is unknown? The writer supposes that the email from Ralph to myself dated 8 June 2017 may provide clues where it states the following:

Dural Alliance's demise

Ralph Paligaru, the sole director of the company, had notice of the winding up of Dural Alliances but did not attend court nor contest or defend the alleged debt owed to my company in any way. Accordingly, the court, by issuing the windup order was, I believe, satisfied that Dural Alliances owed the sum alleged to the Plaintiff - DCP Litigation Holdings Pty Ltd (or at the very least owed in excess of the statutory minimum sum required to order the windup of a corporation AND that there was no dispute at all that the sum, or at least the minimum required sum, was owed to the applicant company, DCP Litigation Holdings Pty Ltd).

What is known is Bargo is now in liquidation, Craig is bankrupt. Dural Alliances was placed in liquidation in February 2020 in the Federal Court of Australia by my company, DCP Litigation Holdings Pty Ltd - see the attached court order - click here. DCP Litigation Holdings proved a debt owed to it by Dural Alliances in the amount of $179,999.82 - the same source of debt alleged in order to windup that company - court order obtained here.

A copy of the report to creditors of Dural Alliances can be viewed by clicking here.

A copy of the originating process for the windup include:

Creditors statutory demand

Affidavit of service

Originating process to Federal Court

Court listing particulars

Affidavit of debt

Windup order

Other matters / co-incidences?

In around April 2020, Ralph sold 88 Perfection Ave, Stanhope Gardens to satisfy some of the mortgages or charges however a 3rd charge to my company was not discharged and the caveat protecting that charge was withdrawn.

Coincidentally, the first mortgagee that was paid (as is usual) from the sale of 88 Perfection Ave, Stanhope Gardens was also linked to the mortgagor of the Dural land through lender Pacific8 - whose director is a man named Adam Tilley - a person infamously (so it is reported) being victim of a firebombing involving convicted murderer Ron Medich and his victim, Michael McGuirk. The writer is not suggesting Mr. Tilley is other than Mr. Paligaru (and Craig Adam's) lender.

In or about February 2020, Pacific8 (the holder of an AFSL) loaned money under a 1st mortgage to Ralph. Pacific8 (is the holder of an AFSL). Pacific8 also loaned money to Craig's company Bargo through a series of controlled companies, e.g. N&M and Kesinda. These loans to both Craig and Ralph are most likely just a coincidence, the writer does not suggest any wrongdoing by Adam Tilley's Pacific8 (the holder of an AFSL)?

A further coincidence is that Adam Tilley's Pacific8 (the holder of an AFSL) and Franklin Yeezy share the same lawyer - Summer Lawyers a firm who does specialise and act for a large number of Sydney based private lenders (such as Pacific 8).

The writer is only opining that "its a small world" and does not suggest or imply any wrongdoing.

The writer also notes that Mr. Tilley is not associated with Franklin Yeezy Holdings Pty Ltd.

A copy of the report to creditors of Dural Alliances can be viewed by clicking here.

For more information - chat with us live using our instant chat tools (bottom corners), book an appointment or call now on 1300-327123 (till late).

To contact us with any tip-offs, files or information about any person mentioned on this page - please use the instant chat tools - bottom right corner or the contact/tipoff form below:

[hubspot portal="4799618" id="7979eaeb-4207-45a9-9392-f066eb15cff2" type="form"]