Clive Palmer July 7 2017

Well, finally concrete Federal Government action against Clive Palmer over the disgraceful demise of Queensland Nickel in January last year

PPB Advisory, the liquidators appointed by the Turnbull Government to investigate the collapse, yesterday launched legal action in the Queensland Supreme Court to sue Clive Palmer and his nephew, Clive Mensink, for almost $500 million

The case will allege Palmer “wilfully and recklessly” took cash from Queensland Nickel to prop up his other companies and fund personal spending

It targets Palmer individually for damages of more than $290 million, Clive Mensink for $110 million and the Palmer corporate empire for hundreds of millions more

It also targets two mysterious foreign women to whom Clive Palmer paid millions of dollars

The women, Evgenia Bednova and Zhenghong Zhang, are being sued for $959,000 and $4.5 million respectively

Queensland Nickel collapsed in January 2016 owing $300 million

800 workers lost their jobs and Australian taxpayers footed a $70 million redundancy bill

It’s been alleged Clive Palmer siphoned $224 million from Queensland Nickel and secretly acted as a company “shadow Director” and that Queensland Nickel traded while insolvent

If those allegations can be established Clive Palmer could be gaoled

He could also be gaoled if he is found to have helped Queensland Nickel Director, Clive Mensink, evade Court

Two arrests warrants have been issued for Mensink who has been on an overseas holiday since June 2016

The game, as they say, must be just about up