Greensill creditors vote for Australian liquidation, probes of directors to follow

By Paulina Duran

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Creditors of Greensill Capital Pty, the Australian parent of the collapsed British supply chain financier, voted on Thursday to liquidate the company, its administrator said, triggering deeper investigations into the conduct of its directors.

Grant Thornton (GT), the liquidator appointed for the Australian parent and its operating companies in Britain, said the majority of 26 creditors owed A$4.6 billion ($3.6 billion) by the collapsed financier voted for liquidation.

"The liquidators will continue to identify and realise available assets, monitor developments in relation to the administrations of Greensill UK and the Greensill Bank AG, and continue their investigations in relation to Greensill Capital Pty," GT said in a statement.

The creditor vote comes as prosecutors in the German city of Bremen raided the offices and homes of Greensill bankers, including the residences of five officials suspected of possible wrongdoing.

In March, German regulator BaFin filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors over an audit that found Greensill Bank, a standalone entity owned by the Australian parent, could not provide evidence of receivables on its balance sheet.

The German lender collapsed days later.

As part of the liquidation of the Australian parent, further investigations will be prepared into the conduct of Greensill officers, and their findings reported to the Australian corporate regulator, GT told creditors in an April 15 report.

Founder and Chief Executive Lex Greensill, a director since 2011, was appointed company secretary in February, the report added.

Greensill did not immediately respond to a LinkedIn message seeking comment.

Seven other directors, including his brother Peter Greensill, who is also a secured creditor, resigned from their roles in the month before the appointment of administrators, as the company began considering contingency planning, it added.

Reuters could not immediately trace contact details for these directors, however.

Other secured creditors include Credit Suisse and BOQ Finance, while unsecured creditors include Softbank, vendors of companies Greensill bought in 2020, employees and trade creditors, according to the report.

The Association of German Banks has also put a contingent liability of 2 billion euros ($2.41 billion) on the Australian parent that might be payable if available insurance and bank assets prove insufficient to indemnify it for deposit protection payments.

The association has already paid out about 2.7 billion euros to more than 20,500 Greensill Bank customers in a deposit guarantee scheme after the collapse.

($1=0.8313 euros)

($1=1.2922 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Paulina Duran in Sydney; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)