'Forgery and fraud' sucks Westpac NZ deeper

Bill Papas has been lying low in northern Greece after fleeing Sydney in mid-June. (Image: LinkedIn)

Mon, 23 Aug 2021

As Westpac chases erstwhile Australian business tycoon Bill Papas through the Australian and New Zealand courts to recover the bulk of an alleged A$400 million trans-Tasman forgery scheme, the bank’s New Zealand arm’s exposure has risen.Westpac NZ initially had $42.8 million at risk, but a report out on Friday from McGrathNicol’s Andrew Grenfell and Kare Johnstone, now the liquidators of Papas’ Iugis (NZ) and Forum Group NZ, report a $6 million increase in the exposure to $48.51 million. “The debt has been inc...

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