Poker machine maker Aristocrat has launched an extraordinary attack against its former chief executive Des Randall, accusing him of dishonest and fraudulent behaviour as part of a claim to retrieve more than $2.6 million in loans, allegedly misused company funds and other costs.
The tit-for-tat action comes with Mr Randall suing the poker machine maker for almost $13 million on the grounds it breached his contract by failing to pay him entitlements and a bonus.
Among a host of claims lodged in the Supreme Court yesterday, Aristocrat alleges Mr Randall withheld financial information about the company's US operations, misused more than $180,000 in company funds and forged his wife's signature in order to obtain a loan from the company.
Mr Randall was sacked in April - four months after his contract was renewed - in the wake of a $28.8 million profit downgrade relating to a failed contract in South America and a worse-than-expected performance in the US.
However, Aristocrat claims it was not bound to the terms of the contract signed in December because it had not been approved by shareholders.
Aristocrat said it paid Mr Randall $158,651.88 in entitlements after he was sacked and the company was not obliged to pay any more money.
Aristocrat claims Mr Randall had engaged in acts of "dishonesty, fraud, misbehaviour and breaches of duty which might detrimentally affect Aristocrat" while he was chief executive.
Aristocrat alleges Mr Randall knew in December - almost two months before the February 7 profit downgrade - that it might miss its full-year earnings forecast of $109 million.
On December 11, Mr Randall allegedly received a copy of an email which had been sent by the former chief financial officer Lionel Jeyaraj to the then president of the US operations Mark Newburg.
In the email Mr Jeyaraj allegedly said the "gross margin fallout in the Americas had had a very real impact on the whole group result" and the Americas had missed its gross margin target for November 2002 by $US6 million and "there was no catch-up planned in December".
Mr Randall has previously claimed he was not aware the US had performed below expectations until February.
Aristocrat also claims Mr Randall and his wife Vivienne spent $124,290.50 on their home in Nevada and $36,504.31 on the company's home in Balmoral without company permission. Mr Randall also allegedly forged his wife's signature on promissory note to secure a $2.51 million loan from Aristocrat.
SOURCE:
SMH.
