Gavin Muir, the former boss of TEAC is dead. Muir who died at a boat show on the Gold Coast was due to face fraud charges in Melbourne next month. His world crumbled in 2005 when administrators removed him from TEAC when it was revealed it had debt of more than $130 million.
In March of last year he was charged with 11 counts under the Corporations Act over TEAC’s sale of the Port Melbourne site to Muir’s private company. TEAC executive Kenneth Evans is to appear in the Magistrates Court on similar charges. The case was set down to be heard on June 21 2007.
The charges followed an Australian Securities and Investments Commission investigation into his conduct while a director of TEAC Australia and property development company Bay St Pty Ltd. The offences are alleged to arise out of Muir’s conduct following a $6 million shortfall at settlement on the sale in May 2002 of TEAC Australia’s Port Melbourne premises to Muir’s private company, Bay St Corporation,” ASIC said in a statement last night.
Muir established TEAC Australia in 1978 and was half-owner with the parent company in Japan. TEAC Australia had a turnover of $170 million and about 100 staff.
While running TEAC, Muir refurbished the historic Royal Mint in William Street as the company’s headquarters.
TEAC Australia was placed in administration in 2005 and was sold to Singaporean investors. Liquidators were appointed to Bay St Corporation in April last year. Muir was made a bankrupt in December.
TEAC products have been available in Australia for more than 30 years. TEAC Australia is currently managed by TT International Limited (TTIL), a Singapore Stock Exchange Mainboard Listed Public Company. TT International is a leading Singapore-based consumer electronics company.
Muir often sailed close to the wind. Last year a collection of artworks that had been in the offices of TEAC turned out to be fakes. The fakes were discovered when presented at Melbourne auction house Leonard Joel, which discovered some works attributed to the late Graeme Roche to be less than genuine.
Art manager Peter Struthers was having doubts about some of the paintings, so he called in the artist’s widow, Gill Del-Mace. Several were found to be fakes. “They were digitally produced prints,” Struthers said, adding that they were varnished heavily and looked like paintings.
He confirmed that the six Roche paintings owned by TEAC, including Wrecked Cars and Spirit of St Valentine that appear in the catalogue for Leonard Joel’s spring auction, have all been authenticated.
They are part of a wider collection owned by TEAC, which was placed in voluntary administration in March, owing $55 million to creditors.
The fake paintings will now be destroyed to ensure they are never sold to some poor schmuck who wouldn’t know any better.
Football and media celebrity John “Sam” Newman shares the TEAC mob’s admiration for the talents of Graeme Roche. He bought four of the artist’s paintings directly from TEAC’s former boss and part-owner, Gavin Muir, several years ago. He is now having his collection valued and authenticated.
