Mr Evan Con Drakos of Seaton, South Australia, has today appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court following an investigation by ASIC.

Mr Drakos, 56, faces 11 charges of dishonestly using his position as director of Residential Foundation Systems (Australia) Pty Ltd (RFS) between 1 December 2000 and 8 May 2002. RFS and a number of related entities constructed concrete foundations for residential properties in Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.

ASIC alleges Mr Drakos breached his duties as a director of RFS by using company funds of approximately $166,000 to pay personal gambling debts.

ASIC also alleges Mr Drakos and his co-director, Mr John Anthony Maiolo, entered into a Deed of Settlement with telephone betting agency, IASbet.com Pty Ltd (IASbet), whereby RFS became responsible for payment of $494,098.24 owed to IASbet by Mr Maiolo.

On 25 June 2002, RFS was wound up owing approximately $5.5 million to creditors. Liquidators estimate creditors are unlikely to receive any return.

The matter returns to the Melbourne Magistrates Court for mention on 17 July 2008.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is prosecuting the matter.

Background

Mr Maiolo will stand trial in the Melbourne County Court on 7 July 2008. Mr Maiolo faces nine charges of dishonestly using his position as a director of a company with the intention of gaining an advantage for himself or someone else and a further 16 charges of falsifying an account or record made or required for accounting purposes.