Petrol Company Pays Small Part of Debt

ABC Newcastle

Topic: Businesses

Thu 11 Jun 2026 at 6:59am

A former director of Zoya Investments is Rizwan Rana.

In short:

The former directors of a collapsed petrol company paid $2 million to creditors.

The deal was part of a settlement with the liquidator over claims of asset stripping.

What's next?

One creditor will get around 3 cents for every dollar owed.

A petrol company struck a deal to repay a fraction of its debts from environmental contamination.

The liquidator claimed the directors used company funds to buy multi-million-dollar homes.

The allegations were part of court proceedings that were dismissed after a settlement.

The ex-directors denied any wrongdoing, saying assets were sold to pay debts.

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Zoya Investments leased petrol stations across Australia and entered liquidation in 2024.

A developer won a court judgment against the petrol business for contaminating their property.

The court found the petrol station leaked into the developer's land, making it unsaleable.

The developer was awarded $9.3 million in damages for the contamination.

The Australian Tax Office was also owed money after Zoya's collapse.

The liquidator lodged proceedings to recoup funds for creditors, but a settlement was reached.

The settlement meant one creditor got only 3 cents for every dollar owed.

The liquidator accepted the settlement after considering potential defences.

The creditor's land remained unusable due to the contamination.

The creditor felt let down by the system and thought it was unfair.

A local MP said there should be consequences for people who do not do the right thing.

The Environmental Protection Authority fined the petrol station $320,000 in 2022.

The petrol station was sold to a new company directed by the former directors.

The EPA issued a clean-up notice, and remedial work is underway.

The creditor is owed $9.3 million after winning a court judgment.

The former directors said the contamination was not caused by their company.

The court found the company did little to address the leak after it was alerted.

The judgment said the company was guilty of conscious wrongdoing.

One of the former directors resigned a week before the company collapsed.

A settlement was reached after the liquidator agreed to drop the case.

The liquidator began proceedings in the Federal Court over alleged breaches of directors' duties.

The liquidator estimated they could retrieve $8.7 million through the court action.

The liquidator successfully applied for a temporary order to freeze some assets.

The orders blocked the former directors from selling or using the proceeds of certain properties.

One of the properties was a $10.5 million mansion in western Sydney.

The other property was a $5.2 million home in the Sydney suburb of Bella Vista.

The former directors maintained that company loans used to purchase these properties were repaid.

The liquidator alleged the company sold properties to other businesses directed by the former directors.

The liquidator said some properties were sold for $1 to a company co-directed by the former directors.

The former directors argued they sold properties as part of a restructure to wipe out debt.

They said they had paid substantial amounts into the company and denied hiding assets.

The appeal against the freezing order was dismissed.

The case was dropped after the liquidator accepted the $2 million settlement offer.

The former directors declined an interview with the ABC.

The former directors reiterated that consideration was paid for properties transferred out of the company.

They denied any wrongdoing and said the proceedings were dismissed.

The company was impacted by Covid and the operation of independent petrol stations.

The former directors said they provided all information to the liquidator.

A new director was appointed one week before the company collapsed.

The new director claimed to have no knowledge of the company's affairs.

The liquidator asked for an explanation of why the former directors resigned.

The liquidator said the new director did not own any real property in Australia.

The liquidator's investigations into the financial circumstances of the directors are ongoing.

The new director could not be reached for comment.

The former directors did not respond to questions about the new director's appointment.

Data from 2023-24 shows high concentrations of benzene on the contaminated property.

The liquidator raised questions about the transfer of shares by the former directors.

The liquidator alleged the shares were transferred to family members for no consideration.

The shares may have significant value as they own properties in NSW.

No explanation was provided for the share transfers.

The former directors denied acting in any way detrimental to the company or its creditors.

This is not the first time one of the former directors has come to attention over underpayment concerns.

The Fair Work Ombudsman issued a letter of caution over underpayment concerns.

The company back-paid $18,367 to 20 staff in 2012.

The Fair Work Ombudsman said minimal issues were detected and rectified during a 2015 audit.

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Thu 11 Jun 2026 at 6:59am

Thu 11 Jun 2026 at 11:41am

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