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@JAV3LYN,
Begbies Traynor are seeking to sell the asset as quickly as possible to "anyone" (read: Doyle appointees / Insiders or their proxies) who will: A) provide enough $$$ for their fee; and B) acquire the assets without any conditions or creditor approvals.
This amounts to an unresolved sale to the "quickest" buyer (ie. a “hospital pass”) as opposed to a sale to the most credible bidder who offers the most recoveries to creditors. The sale will generate peanuts (a few million $$) which will go largely to BT and their lawyers/agents fees.
Put simply - BT is not focused on securing maximum creditor recoveries. They are focused on their fee, statutory minimums and will leave the creditors to fight against the new owner. BT will continue very minor recovery work in the background (a few million of NQ loans to directors) but that’s it.
Creditors will be on their own and at the mercy of the new owner. Who will be Doyle-linked.
Note that Audley / bondholders have no enforcement rights at all. Only ING does and ING will not enforce. So once the sale is complete and BT exits the picture, bondholders will be powerless and at the complete mercy of the new owners.
BT are acting in breach of their fiduciary duties and their actions (e.g., delayed/under-reported investigations, repeated award to Doyle appointees/proxies, failure to award the most credible/highest bidder etc) amount to gross negligence or incompetence.
This is a sham of a process and put simply, we are dealing with a lazy/corrupt Administrator.
The earlier poster was correct. There are only two avenues now for bondholders:
1) Police / regulatory action at the highest level
2) Legal action against Begbies Traynor and Stephenson Harwood
BT, Hilco and Stephenson Harwood are under the spotlight right now.
There is a dossier of evidence showing fraud at NQ and corruption of the Administrator.
And media are ready to publish on this matter as soon as the award/sale is completed.
iii) That Doyle’s appointed HGM Directors who have been awarded Keen Pacific executed deals that have resulted in extensive cash leakage to the detriment of NQ shareholders and creditors. These transactions include, among others, streaming agreements that deliver HGM’s gold and silver to NQ Director Kevin Puil at 70%+ discounts to market (specifically the sale of HGM’s gold at $400/oz and silver at $6/oz). Also, HGM Directors signed an exclusive, life-of-mine offtake contract with intermediary Traxys in Nov 2020 for no consideration at all. Since the start of the former agreement with Traxys in 2018, HGM / NQ has received a 60%+ discount on its Lead and Zinc production against its contained metal value. Further, market participants are well aware that Traxys is selling HGM’s production to another intermediary instead of end-buyers, demonstrating a chain of intermediaries and significant foregone revenue.
iv) That in 2020, Audley fiduciary Bedford Row (Scott Levy) appropriated in excess of £10mm from the Audley bondholder’s “liquidity reserve” account to himself, resulting in the default of Audley bonds.
v) That in excess of US$70mm was paid in commissions, consultancies, and “marketing” or administration expenses to Scott Levy and Walter Doyle associates, the latter including Doyle’s relatives, James Dean, David Lenigas, Steve White, Mike Barden and others.
6. That Begbies Traynor have been informed of multiple of the above instances of fraud, some including the provision of documentary evidence.
7. That despite the foregoing and claims of “investigating Company affairs”, that Begbies Traynor have not as yet made a report to the FCA and SFO.
8. That there are a number of other transactions at NQ and its HGM subsidiary that amount to fraud / embezzlement or are highly off-market, the latter including inflated procurement contracts at HGM in favour of parties linked to NQ Directors.
These are known facts, many of which Begbies Traynor has been provided reporting or evidence of.
Before addressing the matter of who the right buyer of Keen Pacific should be, a key question for shareholders and creditors must surely be:
- What is the status of Begbie Traynor’s investigation into NQ fraud with the FCA and SFO?
- How can Doyle-appointed Insiders, be awarded control of NQ’s flagship asset if they are (as Begbies claim) being investigated or demonstrably linked to significant cash-leakage schemes at HGM and NQ?
These are certifiable facts that we (certain shareholders) have discovered recently:
1. That (NQ Founder) Walter Doyle-appointed Directors at NQ subsidiary HGM have been awarded control of Keen Pacific for either US$2.5 or 3mm.
2. That the award to Doyle insiders by Begbies Traynor came against bids from third parties offering more cash and/or recoveries to creditors
3. That nearly all of the $2.5 or 3mm consideration is for Begbie Traynor’s fee
4. That following Doyle’s resignation in 1H21, Begbies Traynor was appointed Administrator at the recommendation of NQ’s CIO Suresh Advani. Advani was hired by Doyle and worked closely with him to execute NQ’s financings. Begbies was ultimately appointed as: i) Advani had a “close friend” there and advocated for them; and ii) unlike other firms, Begbies would agree to work unpaid for the first month.
5. That certain NQ directors and insiders have reported to Begbies Traynor testimonies and/or evidence of fraud at NQ that led to its demise, including among others:
i) A “rigged” Audley bondholder vote on or around May 2020 resulting in the loss of their security. The vote was “engineered” by Bedford Row / Truva Trustee (bondholder arranger and security agent who share the same office address), Walter Doyle, James Dean and James Dean controlled funds (including KIWOZ). The “rigged” vote involved, among other actions, the issuance of deeply discounted Audley bonds to parties related to the above so as to satisfy a bondholder vote quorum for a first vote. A second and determinative vote was then held at the office of Bedford Row and passed with only several of the above-cited funds participating.
The “rigged vote” resulted in the loss of security for Audley bondholders in favour of ING with the vast majority of bondholders receiving no consideration at all for their loss of security.
ii) That following the closing of the ING loan, $30mm+ was paid to NQ Director Kevin Puil (RIVI-RCA), James Dean Controlled funds (KIWOZ) and James Dean personally. Further, James Dean received an additional £8.5mm commercial royalty (booked under Eldorado Gold) for no consideration at all. There is no known record of the NQ Board approving this transaction.
A fellow shareholder was just informed by a contractor mate in Tasmania that Hellyer is having operational problems. Production down significantly and issues relating to non-functioning equipment.
I found this incredibly surprising as Hellyer a simple dredging/milling operation and has been performing very steady and very well. What's more, operators always have spares. If anything breaks down, it should be a several days or a week downtime, not months.
Why now?
Is this an attempt by Doyle crew (James Dean, Scott Levy) & team to spike the asset and prevent others from buying the asset?
Administrator needs to provide updates here, both on the operational issue and the actions of the Doyle Cabal to retake control at this rather convenient time.
@Nickkdog - I avoid whatsapp but is there an e-mail group instead? If so, let me know your address
Keystone Law advised on a shedload of Bedford Row bonds including $150mm of NQ bonds.
Alper Deniz a close associate of Scott Levy
https://www.keystonelaw.com/lawyers/alper-deniz
Note that as underwriters counsel, Keystone drafts the covenants and voting / consent mechanisms to restructure the bonds.
Guess who is CEO of the Trustee acting for all of the bondholders?
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/_Yssms0CSi-b9BOsKHJKOH6up1Q/appointments
So the lawyer drafting the consent covenants is also the trustee controlling the vote.
If bondholders are looking for remedies, they have one more avenue now - informing the law society ASAP and seeking damages against Keystone. Keystone had multiple lawyers involved with this client.
I’m learning more each week as insiders in a panic and playing the blame game.
Don’t believe the claims of parties saying they weren’t in the know or aren’t to blame. At the end of the day, this was a coordinated act.
- Ask yourself why NQ (claiming all sorts of profits) was OTC listed instead of the ASX? Why did the Directors pursue multiple OTC listings instead of a real exchange?
- Why was a third-tier auditing firm appointed instead of a proper one?
- Why was a third-tier Administrator appointed?
- Why was an east end bucket shop appointed to underwrite debt instead of a real investment bank?
- Why were the bonds distributed by the CEO’s relative and sold through a shadowy group of “financial advisory” firms?
- Why is it the same arranger acting on every bond issue including on a Sukuk?
- Why are most of Bedford Row’s employees in Estonia?
- Why is the Sukuk shariah advisor also the owner of the Trustee for Audley bonds?
- Why didn’t NQ actually have a real office in London or anywhere for that matter?
This was a heist pure and simple and it was all planned from day one.
From 2018 to 2020 the Doyle cabal raised US$250mm in various financings for this project.
I spoke to a mining guy who told me based on the operations of the company that max $30mm would have gone into the actual assets, tops $50mm.
The asset value is beyond exaggerated
Hellyer
- Will only produce until 2026
- Claimed EBITDA is grossly inflated by a hedge and the non reporting of management costs / overheads. Actual EBITDA prob closer to $10-15mm.
- That’s enough to repay ING, just
- Asides from ING, Doyle and Dean signed royalty agreements with Deans friends Rivi/Kiwoz/Maui/RCA (guys who are reportedly trying to take over now with Audley/Levy) that take another $10mm+ per year. NQ never publicly disclosed details but it appears these deals mop up every $$ left after ING, and if no $$$ available they get equity, meaning they've diluted shareholders out and will ultimately retake control
- Who gets paid first after ING, Audley or these royalty guys?
- We haven’t even factored in management overheads and the ridiculous salaries these guys were paying themselves. I’m told HQ guys running the financing schemes had no operational involvement and drew £7mm+ per year in salary. How much of a pay cut will they take in a rescue / NQ 2.0?
- Add in rehabilitation costs etc and bondholders will be lucky to see pennies at the end of it all IMHO
Beaconsfield
- NQ paid A$2mm. Maybe someone will pay $5mm now?
Ukalunda/Square Post
- I don’t know anyone who can tell me how/why this is worth anything
Barnes Hill
- This is why many invested and believed the integrated asset / refinery plan that Lenigas was pitching. NQ acted as if they owned this project and had a massive NPV however I recently found out it was just an option and the option has expired. So it’s worth zilch.
Mining equipment on site isn’t worth a fraction of its reported value unless there’s production and significant mine life ahead. And that’s INGs.
Will bondholders/shareholders get a 2020 audit to know what’s real?
At first brush, I don’t see any $$ left on the table here. And bondholders can kiss any future recoveries goodbye if Begbies allow Levy/Doyle/Dean to return for a second act. There’s probably more $$$ in the Doyle cabal coffers.
So it appears the Doyle cabal ripped up to $40mm out of the Audley bonds.
- How much was taken out of $55mm ING loan? (which did not repay a single cent to Audley holders)
- How much was taken from the convertible loan issuances?
- How much was taken from the undisclosed royalty streaming deals with Rivi/KIWOZ/Maui/RCA?
- How much was taken out of the Traxy offtake agreement (where NQ gets less than 30 cents on the dollar for its contained metal)?
- How many other unnecessary or off-market transactions are there with "third parties" that we don't know about?
It's clear where bondholders and shareholders go to get our $$$ back.
Guess where the 40% Audley Bond Commissions went?
1. Distributor of the Audley Bonds is Worldwide Consult Limited
https://investglobalmarketing.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/171102-72222-NQ-Minerals-Fact-Sheet-USDOLLAR-PAGE-1.pdf
2. Director of Worldwide Consult Limited
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/09566121/officers
DOYLE, Peter Daniel Steven
Correspondence address
The Carriage House, Mill Street, Maidstone, Kent, United Kingdom, ME15 6YE
Role ACTIVE
Director
Date of birth
May 1972
Appointed on
28 April 2015
Nationality
British
Country of residence
United Kingdom
Occupation
Director
@moxx - that was precisely my earlier point. Beyond the matter of bondholders not being aware and the vote 'rigged', bondhonders were not provided any consideration for taking subordination. Under US case law, there is absolutely legal grounds for the subordination to be deemed invalid for lack of consideration.
ING are a conservative bank and appear to have done extensive DD and obtained legal opinions and reps + warranties. Culpability here rests entirely with the actors orchestrating the "restructuring".
Where did the $60mm of ING proceeds go if not to Audley bondholders to repay / partially repay or compensate them for subordination? Only prior debt I'm aware of is James Dean's Rivi/Kiwoz (converted to equity and getting $8mm+ per year for their streams).
Where did the $60mm from ING go? How much went into the hands of the Doyle cabal?
There is where the accountant must shed light.
Are these the supposed 'marketing and other expenses' that the accountant could not reconcile? Where is PKF (accountant) on this? I notice Walter Doyle's registered address is also at PKF's London office. ODD
@LatvianPrince
I thought your claim was exaggerated but have heard the same from a credible source ie., Levy / Doyle crew seeking to re-take control through a conversion of Audley bonds into equity. Begbies think they are rescuing NQ but it amounts to the hucksters retaking control and pre-empting legal discovery to repeat the heist. It's beyond brazen.
Begbies would be negligent to accept such a proposal.
We need a forensic investigation / independent audit and full legal discovery on these characters and their dealings ASAP.
Why didn't the auditors sign off on the 2020 accounts?
Check out the posters on this NQ video. Even the commenters are fake.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLkmLRXoVac
Incredible revelations on Audley!
What is the relevant securities law on the bonds?
Under US common law, there’s a requirement that any debt subordination requires consideration to be provided. Where consideration is not provided, there are precedents for a subordination agreement to be deemed invalid irrespective of whether it was approved or not.
https://www.calt.iastate.edu/article/subordination-agreement-fails-lack-contractual-consideration
My friend who works in capital markets informs me in these cases, you would always attach a small payment upfront (cents even) to compensate affected holders to ensure it’s a valid/binding legal agreement.
So many things smell here. 1) Bondholder vote appears engineered. 2) Fiduciaries appear connected / conflicted and acting in concert 3) No consideration provided for subordination and 4) The totality of the parties actions point to premeditation / deliberate intent - a scheme if you will or the “F” word.
Trustee should be on this but appears a connected/conflicted party.
Has the Administrator appointed legal counsel to carry out discovery?
I’m screwed as a shareholder, but I think the bondholders here have a very strong case.