Emily Katherine Baker

Sep 30, 2024 | abc.net.au | Emily Katherine Baker |Elise Potaka |Lara Sonnenschein

The cash poured into failed Australian airline Bonza is being examined as part of a US investigation into money laundering. The US Department of Justice is investigating whether private investment firm 777 Partners and its primary source of funding, insurer A-CAP, have violated US money-laundering laws. Investigators are examining whether policyholders' money was invested where it was supposed to be, including why some funds meant for 777's football teams instead went to Bonza.

Sep 29, 2024 | abc.net.au | Emily Katherine Baker

The former deputy chairman of regional airline Rex claims the board's long-term boss "torpedoed" a deal that could've saved the carrier from voluntary administration. It's an ugly end to an almost 20-year working relationship between John Sharp and Rex's former executive chairman, Lim Kim Hai.

Sep 29, 2024 | abc.net.au | Emily Katherine Baker |Elise Potaka |Lara Sonnenschein

There's a saying in the aviation business: when things go wrong, they go wrong very quickly. The same can be said of Rex. After almost two decades as a successful regional airline, it decided to take on the industry's big two: Qantas and Virgin. The bold move was supposed to give Australians more options and lower airfares — and for a time it did.

Sep 28, 2024 | abc.net.au | Emily Katherine Baker |Elise Potaka |Nick Wiggins

Bill Astling says he knows what it takes to start a new airline in Australia. "You have to be insane," he says. "You have to have a degree of insanity."Astling is the chief executive of Koala Airlines, a company hoping to avoid the fate of others that have tried to take on Qantas and Virgin. "I've had a few people who've said: 'Have you appointed the liquidator yet?'" he jokes. Australia's airline graveyard is littered with carriers who have tried and failed to beat the "big two".

Aug 15, 2024 | abc.net.au | Emily Smith |Emily Katherine Baker

A liquidator says the business My Tiny Home Kit had no real prospect of actually delivering homes and may have been trading while insolvent. The company owes customers more than $3.4 million, according to initial estimates. The liquidator says further investigation into the business is required. There is also an ongoing investigation by Consumer Affairs Victoria.