Winding-up case against alleged $14m tax avoidance scheme gets green light

The liquidator, whose legal action was being funded by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), claimed that the companies allegedly controlled by Cassaniti owed the DCT over $14 million in losses and damages.

The defendants argued that Krejci could not bring new winding-up claims against them, arguing that he was attempting to pressure the companies into paying a disputed tax debt. However, the court found there was prima facie evidence of “serious and irregular matters,” and therefore the new claims should proceed.

These “serious” matters included schemes to avoid the payment of tax, payments of money to third parties instead of to the DCT, directors unable to explain the purpose of these payments who appeared to have little knowledge of the companies that they purportedly were in charge of, court documents read.

Krejci alleged that the first defendant, Teddy Panella, was a straw director of various companies including CAP Accounting, Accolade, Marginata, Reliance and Fraser Holdings. He contended that the second defendant, Sam Cassaniti, acted as a shadow director behind the scenes.

According to ASIC data cited by Insolvency News Online, Panella is currently listed as the director of 63 companies. When he was questioned in court in 2024, he demonstrated little knowledge regarding the activities of companies that he purportedly directed.

“In his examination, Mr Panella agreed he was the director of Financial Advisory and Fraser Holdings but he could not shed any light on what either company did or the activities in which they were involved,” Federal Court documents from February 2025 read.

When questioned about labour hire company Fraser Holdings’ activities, Panella said he could “not remember.” When it was suggested to him that the company was a “shell company,” he again said he could not remember. He later described Fraser Holdings as a “shelf company,” according to court documents.

Krejci added that his investigations had identified approximately $5.3 million cycled through the companies in a way that could not be readily explained by the commercial activities of the companies.

He also said he found evidence of a second tax avoidance scheme, which was primarily focused on a company called Financial Advisory, which also listed Panella as a director.

Krejci found that a variety of purported wage payments were made from Financial Advisory to Cassaniti ($2.7 million) and related parties including his sister-in-law Mariolina Cassaniti ($79,999), his cousin David Cassaniti ($65,000), and his wife Thi Linh Trinh ($62,400), amongst others.

With regard to Financial Advisory, the court noted that Panella did not remember "when Financial Advisory had last traded, the identity of its shareholders, nor what Financial Advisory actually did." He also reportedly did not remember when or how he became a director.

In the latest case development, the Federal Court determined that the Cassaniti parties couldn’t challenge to remove their provisional liquidators, Krajici was allowed to bring new winding-up claims including adding new companies as defendants, and maintained freezing orders put in place to prevent the defendants from moving assets.

The next hearing is expected to occur later this year.

Case citations:

• Krejci (liquidator) v Panella, in the matter of Richmond Lifts Pty Ltd (in liq) [2025] FCA 151 (28 February 2025)
• Krejci (liquidator) v Panella, in the matter of Richmond Lifts Pty Ltd (in liq) (No 6) [2026] FCA 75 (11 February 2026)