LARGE-SCALE FRAUDS ALLEGED

Evening Star, Issue 25996, 10 January 1947, Page 7

LARGE-SCALE FRAUDS ALLEGED

AUSTRALIAN MILLIONAIRE REPORTED INVOLVED SCOTLAND YARD INQUIRIES IN AUSTRALIA (Rec. 1 p.m.) MELBOURNE, Jan. 10. Two Scotland Yard detectives were inquiring into large-scale frauds alleged to involve the West Australian mining millionaire, Mr Claude Albo de Bernales, said Mr D. A. Menzies, who, appearing for the Crown in the Practice Court, applied for an order to open sealed envelopes containing the private balance sheet of the Australian Machinery and Investment Company Proprietary Ltd. Chief-inspector E. W. Daws said in an affidavit that he believed Bernales was using the company to collect money dishonestly. Mr Menzies said that Inspector Daws and his assistant had now almost completed their investigations, which would be assisted by an inspection of the papers. The law required auditors to deposit the private balance sheets of companies , with the Registrar-General. Sealed envelopes could be opened only on a court order, which could be given only on the application of a company liquidator or the Attorney-General. The AttorneyGeneral had decided to make this application because Inspector Daws had said there were good grounds for suspecting that the company hqd been used as an instrument of. fraud.

Inspector Daws told the court he had been inquiring into the activities of Bernales and others in connection with the issue in England in 1933 of the prospectus of the Anglo-Australian Gnl- 1 Development Ltd. It was alleged that the Australian Machinery and Investment Company Proprietary Ltd. bad sold to the Anglo-Anstralian Cold Development Ltd. shares in six gold mines in West Australia for ■f c "'

but that all that was paid for 686.700 fil shares was the transfer of six mining licenses for £5 os each. It was also alleged that the assets, of Australian Machinery Ltd. had increased from £52,829 to £2.180,444. The application was adjourned.