Pankaj Oswal, the man behind the failed Burrup Fertilisers group, claims he could emerge with any surplus proceeds from the forced sale of the West Australian ammonia maker after revealing yesterday that a substantial portion of his family's stake is in his wife's name and beyond the reach of receivers appointed on Friday.
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Mr Oswal, who left Australia around the time Australia and New Zealand Banking Group appointed receivers to secure an $800 million-plus exposure to Burrup, also claimed to have been trying to sell shares in the business for over a year, The Australian Financial Review reports.
Mr Oswal yesterday said he owned only 30 per cent of Burrup Holdings, and his wife Radhika held additional shares under her name, "almost all of which are not subject to any security and which cannot be sold by a receiver".
However, yesterday ANZ disputed the claim that the shares were off limits. "ANZ has certain rights to all of the Oswals' 65 per cent shareholding. Based on those rights we expect to make a full recovery," a spokesman for the bank said last night.
