From The Australian over the long weekend:
SYDNEY entrepreneur Roland Frank Bleyer first came to national attention in 1985 when TV host Mike Willesee grilled him on air over a business that was using animal foetal cells to treat children with Down syndrome.
It might have been just another TV interview, save for the fact that a well-lubricated Willesee slurred his words and used the phrase “bullshit artist” as he questioned Mr Bleyer, who at the time ran a chain of hair regrowth, weight loss and cosmetic surgery clinics.
Three decades later, the Rolls Royce-driving Mr Bleyer is again at the centre of a big controversy — but this time it is being watched by governments and sharemarket investors.
It appears highly likely that Mr Bleyer is one of the mystery backers behind listed Perth tiddler Padbury Mining’s increasingly fraught plan to spend $6.5 billion to revive the Oakajee port and rail project in Western Australia.
Padbury’s main benefactor appears to be a group called Alliance Super Holdings, which was established last year in a joint venture with private equity investors.
Mr Bleyer, 67, is a shareholder in the parent company of Alliance Super Holdings.
The Oz goes on to describe a trail of outstanding controversies surrounding Mr Bleyer. Oakajee does not appear destined for immediate revival.
