NSW: Skase was penniless, Spanish lawyer says

AAP General News (Australia)
08-08-2001
NSW: Skase was penniless, Spanish lawyer says

SYDNEY, Aug 8 AAP - Christopher Skase died virtually penniless and any hunt for his
assets would be a waste of time, his Spanish lawyer said.

Antonio Coll, the Majorca-based lawyer credited with masterminding Skase's flight from
Australia, said the Australian government's quest to find any money was futile, The Daily
Telegraph reports.

"If he [Australian Prime Minister John Howard] is capable of finding any assets he
will deserve to be congratulated," Mr Coll reportedly told a Spanish newspaper.

"And if there were any [assets] they would be in the hands of his trustees."

Mr Coll said he and Skase's doctor had cared for the fugitive businessman out of humanitarian
concern and Skase was broke when he died.

Skase's situation worsened when a bodyguard stole from him and fled to South America,
the newspaper reports.

Skase may be poised to speak from beyond the grave with a tell-all autobiography titled
A Postcard from Majorca - Nightmare in Paradise.

About 5,000 copies of the book, which reveal the fugitive tycoon's life on the run,
exist but have not been distributed due to negotiations to sell the rights, the newspaper
said.

AAP aa/mg (

KEYWORD: SKASE LAWYER

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