Collapsed Japanese restaurant chain accumulated over $21 million in debt
A collapsed Japanese restaurant chain accumulated over $21 million in debt before going into liquidation last year.
Sushi Bay had been operating stores across NSW, the ACT and the Northern Territory since 2004.
The breakdown of the chain followed wind-up proceedings conducted by the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation over unpaid tax debts.
The company was also being pursued by the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) over breaches of the Fair Work Act. The FWO was pursuing the owner and sole director for allegedly underpaying 163 workers — mostly Korean nationals — $650,000.
The owners were accused of falsifying records to try to cover up the underpayments which occurred over several years.
The collapse of Sushi Bay is one of the largest in Australian hospitality history, with the FWO securing record penalties of $15.3 million against its outlets.
That combined with pre-existing debts, left Sushi Bay in a $21 million hole, however one store at Macarthur Square, Campbelltown remains standing.
news.com.au has obtained a number of statutory reports released by Christopher Palmer of insolvency firm O’Brien Palmer, the appointed liquidator.
Sushi Bay’s sole director Yi Jeong ‘Rebecca’ Shin has been issued with a demand to repay $1.449 million due to trading while insolvent, however Palmer said he had not received a response.
It was noted that Shin had sold a property in Sydney suburb Ryde for $4.9 million in 2022.
“It appears that the director may have had capacity to pay, at least in part, a claim for insolvent trading,” Palmer noted.
“The question that follows is how was the equity in the property, if any, applied by the director?”
Jonathan Jackson, 26th August 2024
