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Notorious Queensland businessman and ex-politician Clive Palmer has been charged with breaching takeover law.
Following an ASIC investigation, Palmer, 63, and his company Palmer Leisure Coolum (PLC), has been charged with breaching takeover law arising from a proposed takeover of The Presidents Club (TPC).
ASIC alleges that in April 2012 PLC publically proposed to make a takeover bid for securities in TPC but subsequently did not make an offer for those securities within two months, as required under the Corporations Act.
TPC operated a time share scheme at a property known as Hyatt Regency Coolum, now known as Palmer Coolum Resort.
As a result, PLC has been charged with contravening the Act for aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the company to commit that offence.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of two years' jail and a fine of $11,000 for an individual, and fines of $55,000 for a corporation.
The matter has been listed for a pre-trial hearing before the Brisbane Magistrates' Court on 13 June 2018.
Palmer has made an application to the Supreme Court of Queensland for the charges against him and PLC to be permanently stayed.
The Queensland businessman remains on bail in the meantime.
The site, once considered a premier resort in South East Queensland, is currently the centre of a legal battle between Palmer and retirees who own villa shares.
PLC went viral when Palmer erected a now-defunct dinosaur park, which features a massive statue of a tyrannosaurus rex.
The tyrannosaurus rex, named Jeff, was destroyed in a fire in 2015.
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