The Court granted ex parte interim freezing orders against the first defendant and related entities where evidence suggested that shares in subsidiary companies had been transferred to a newly incorporated entity associated with the defendant's directors and general counsel, on or about the same day as the new entity's incorporation. The Court was satisfied there was a good arguable case, a danger of dissipation of assets designed to frustrate a prospective judgment, and that processes under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (uncommercial transactions and creditor-defeating dispositions) and state conveyancing legislation may ultimately be available to compel disgorgement, satisfying the Cardile v LED Builders test for freezing orders against non-parties. The freezing amount was set at $36,400,000 for the first respondent, with broader asset freezes and disclosure obligations imposed on the remaining respondents.
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