MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Liquidators of Nathan Tinkler's Mulsanne Resources were given the go-ahead by the court to sue the struggling Australian tycoon for allegedly letting Mulsanne trade while insolvent, said one of Tinkler's creditors, Blackwood Corp .
Blackwood is trying to recover A$28.4 million (18.9 million pounds) that Tinkler's private company Mulsanne agreed to pay last year for a one-third stake in the coal explorer. As a result of the claim, a court late last year appointed liquidators to wind up Mulsanne.
The process is being closely watched as Tinkler may be forced to sell down his 19 percent stake in Whitehaven Coal Ltd , now worth A$367 million, to cover his debts and potential penalties.
The Supreme Court of New South Wales ruled on Tuesday that liquidators Ferrier Hodgson would be allowed to ask Blackwood to fund proceedings against Mulsanne.
"On 30 April 2013, the court approved a funding agreement that will allow for the liquidator to commence proceedings against the officers and former officers of Mulsanne Resources," Blackwood said in its quarterly report on Wednesday.
The liquidators now have to decide whether to launch a case against Tinkler, a former mine electrician who made billions of dollars from aggressive bets on coal tenements.
"Blackwood will continue to monitor the recoverability of the monies owed to the company under the Share Purchase Agreement and will keep the market updated on further developments," Blackwood said.
At hearings in March, Tinkler said he thought he was going to have funds to pay for the Blackwood shares from a deal he had proposed to Hong Kong-based trading firm Noble Group Ltd (Other OTC: NOBGF - news) . The deal with Noble (NYSE: NE - news) did not go ahead and he admitted there had never been any written agreement with Noble.
(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Stephen Coates)
