The long-running legal battles between Eric Watson, his former business partner Ken Whikeley and millionaire Owen Glenn have seen some recent action with a date now set for the bankruptcy of the former high flying businessman.
Eric Watson is set to face a bankruptcy hearing with a date set down as the liquidators of his company, Cullen Investments, have been chasing him for approximately $57.4 million plus interest.
The debt stems from loans he made to himself from the company. In December 2019, KPMG took control of Cullen Investments following a tax judgment by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), which found the group liable for a $51.4 million tax payment. Cullen Investments is a part of Watson’s Cullen Group.
In a related development, a high court judge has ordered Watson and Ken Wikeley to cease pursuing a coal agreement at the heart of global litigation involving Owen Glenn.
The legal battle focuses on an agreement Watson allegedly signed on behalf of Glenn over a decade ago, a deal of which Glenn only became aware last year. This agreement came to light when Glenn’s Kea Investments and its UK solicitors received a statutory notice. The judge ruled that the default judgment was obtained through fraud, adding another layer of complexity to Watson’s legal troubles.
