Clive Palmer

In 2020, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission charged Clive Palmer with four criminal counts: two under section 184(2)(a) of the Corporations Act (dishonest use of position as a company director) and two under section 408C(1)(d) of the Queensland Criminal Code (fraud). ASIC alleged that Palmer, as a director of Mineralogy Pty Ltd, authorized the transfer of approximately $12.2 million from Mineralogy to entities associated with himself — including Cosmo Developments, Media Circus Network, and ultimately his Palmer United Party — to fund the 2013 federal election campaign. The funds were allegedly transferred contrary to the purposes for which they were held.

• —Transfers alleged: $10,000,000 between 5 August and 5 September 2013; $2,167,065.60 between 31 August and 3 September 2013.
• —Destination: Cosmo Developments, Media Circus Network, and the Palmer United Party — all connected to Palmer personally.
• —Palmer attempted to halt proceedings via the Supreme Court of Queensland. Dismissed (November 2022). Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal unanimously (February 2024). High Court refused special leave (June 2024).
• —As of 2026, the criminal charges remain pending at the Brisbane Magistrates Court — interlocutory applications completed; trial not yet commenced.
• —Maximum penalties: up to 5 years imprisonment per Corporations Act count; up to 12 years per Queensland Criminal Code fraud count with aggravating circumstances.
• —No conviction has been entered. The charges are allegations. Palmer denies the conduct.

In January 2016, Queensland Nickel — a nickel refinery Palmer owned and controlled — entered voluntary administration, and in April 2016 its creditors voted for liquidation. Nearly 800 workers lost their jobs and were owed approximately $300 million in total creditor claims. The Australian government’s Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) — a taxpayer-funded safety net — paid out $66.86 million to cover the workers’ unpaid entitlements while Palmer disputed liability. After years of litigation, Palmer settled the bulk of a $200 million lawsuit, agreeing to repay the full FEG debt, all outstanding employee entitlements, and the majority of unsecured creditors.

• —Queensland Nickel entered administration 19 January 2016; liquidation voted April 2016. Nearly 800 workers lost jobs.
• —Australian taxpayers paid $66.86 million via the Fair Entitlements Guarantee while Palmer contested the claims.
• —A special purpose liquidator was appointed specifically to pursue Palmer, given the complexity of his corporate structure.
• —Palmer's publicly stated position disputed personal liability throughout — while workers went unpaid.
• —Palmer eventually agreed to settle: full repayment of the $66.86M FEG debt, all outstanding employee entitlements, and a full recovery of the majority of unsecured creditors.
• —The settlement repaid workers but only after years of legal battle and only after the public underwrote the cost.

In the 2019 federal election, Palmer’s mining company Mineralogy donated approximately $84 million to his Palmer United Party — then a record for private political spending in Australia. In 2022, he broke his own record: Mineralogy donated $117 million to the United Australia Party, bringing total UAP 2022 election spending to $123 million. The result: one Senate seat — Ralph Babet. One senator. At a per-seat cost never before recorded in Australian political history. The spending was disclosed through the Australian Electoral Commission. It is legal. The AEC calls it a donation. The effect is that a single mining billionaire outspent a major political party in a national election.

• —2019: Palmer/Mineralogy spent ~$84M — then a record for private political spending in Australia.
• —2022: Mineralogy donated $117M; total UAP spending reached $123M — outspending Labor, the second-biggest spender.
• —Result: 1 Senate seat won (Ralph Babet, Victoria). The Australian first-past-the-post Senate system did not convert spending into proportional seats.
• —First federal election since 2010 where the party with the largest advertising budget did not win — but Palmer outspent every other single actor in the country.
• —The spending was AEC-disclosed — this is not dark money. It is open plutocracy. One mining company directed $117M at a democratic election.
• —Australian law does not cap individual political donations. Palmer has used this gap to make himself the single most influential private actor in Australian federal elections twice in four years.