on banking giant Westpac and two other lenders has hit back at suggestions he tried to hide assets from the court.cafe owner from Melbourne, was cross-examined at the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday after Westpac raised concerns he had not properly disclosed to the court his assets and income as a part of proceedings.
Westpac has alleged Tesoriero, who was a former director of Forum Finance and friend of Papas, has received more than $28 million in cash from Papas that was the proceeds of fraud allegedly orchestrated by Papas against the bank. The bank has also alleged that Tesoriero made significant property investments with Papas using the proceeds of fraud. Westpac alleges Tesoriero was aware, or should have been aware, of Papas’s fraud and is seeking to claw back tens of millions in cash and property allegedly acquired with the bank’s money.
Westpac used Tuesday’s hearing to pick apart disclosures Tesoriero, who is subject to freezing orders as part of the civil proceeding, had made to the court as part of the pre-trial procedures for the case. This included why he had failed to report the $150,841.76 in cash that was held in an account that was receiving rent payments for a portfolio of petrol stations in country Victoria. The court heard that this income had been received in July this year but had not been included in his disclosures.