Liberty Financial boss Sherman Ma sues his own company Juno

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This was published 8 years ago

Liberty Financial boss Sherman Ma sues his own company Juno

By Sarah Danckert
Updated

A company linked to Liberty Financial's embattled managing director Sherman Ma is suing another company associated with ... Sherman Ma, as legal wrangling over a $25 million dispute with Macquarie Bank reaches new levels.

The new claim has taken the battle over the flow of fees generated by Liberty Financial's successful low doc loan business to three continents – from Luxembourg, to Melbourne, to the Caribbean island of Curacao.

Sherman Ma has registered his interest in the Netherlands to become a creditor to Juno alongside Macquarie.

Sherman Ma has registered his interest in the Netherlands to become a creditor to Juno alongside Macquarie.Credit: Jessica Shapiro

At stake are millions of dollars in fees from the distribution of financial instruments generated by Liberty Financial's Australian loan arm and global securitisation business.

Last week Australian-based company Minerva Technology filed a claim in the Supreme Court of Victoria against Luxembourg-incorporated Juno SARL.

Minerva Technology says it has not received licensing fees from Juno, as per an agreement between the two companies, since April 2010.

Minerva says the fees stopped after a court in the picturesque Curacao ruled the agreement between Minerva and Juno be annulled.

Minerva says the court's orders to annul the agreement caused Juno to breach its agreement.

"As since April 19, 2010, the plaintiff had not been able to receive the licence fees," Minerva says in its statement of claim filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

Separate legal action

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Juno is the subject of separate legal action launched by Macquarie earlier in July in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

In that action, Macquarie is seeking to recoup $25 million the bank says it is owed by Juno in the Netherlands.

Macquarie says Juno never repaid an $US11.5 million ($15.59 million) note Macquarie provided to it in 2004. Missed interest payments have taken Macquarie's claim to $25 million.

However, Juno also owes other creditors, including Mr Ma and Minerva, about $54 million.

Macquarie filed its action against Mr Ma's Juno in NSW, after a court in the Netherlands upheld Macquarie's claim to be listed as a creditor to Juno.

A spokesman for Liberty Financial said the Victorian Supreme Court claim was linked to Mr Ma trying to protect his and Liberty's interests in the wake of legal action launched by Macquarie Bank against Juno.

"The court case [over Juno] is a legacy dispute that dates back 10 years. There's always two sides to any story," a spokesman for Liberty Financial said.

Already registered interest

The spokesman said Mr Ma had already registered his interest in the Netherlands to become a creditor to Juno alongside Macquarie.

"The Netherlands court has validated his rights as representative of the largest creditors and therefore it's no surprise that he's going to take similar protective interest here so that his rights are maintained," the spokesman said.

Little-known Minerva Technology's ultimate holding company is Minerva Financial, which counts Mr Ma as a director and has $2.8 billion in funds under management, company filings show.

Liberty chairman and former Freehills partner Richard Longes and Liberty director Peter Hawkins, a former executive at ANZ Bank, are also listed as directors of Minerva Financial.

Minerva Financial is in turn owned by Vesta Funding BVI, a company that counts a number of Mr Ma's companies, including the Ma Family Trust, as shareholders.

Macquarie declined to comment.

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