Tiger Lily loses out on dad Michael Hutchence's millions
Tiger Lily Hutchence, the daughter of INXS member Michael Hutchence, has missed out on a large amount of royalties from her father’s music.
These royalties are believed to amount to tens of millions of dollars.
An investigation by ABC’s Four Corners found that the rockstar’s former lawyer Colin Diamond instead controls much of the estate and owns the company holding the music rights.
Uncovered in the Paradise Papers offshore tax haven leak, were handwritten papers revealing that a company called Helipad Plain was created in Mauritius in 2015 as part of a deal between Mr Diamond and music entrepreneur Ron Creevey.
Four Corners reported that the company’s stated aim was the “commercial exploitation of the sound recordings, images, films and related materials embodying the performance of Michael Hutchence.”
Rhett Hutchence has said that his late brother wanted any money from his estate to be split with 50 per cent going to Tiger Lily, then 10 per cent each to this father, mother, sister, brother and partner Paula Yates.
It has been discovered that the intellectual property rights were never part of Michael Hutchence’s estate but instead owned by a British Virgin Islands company called Chardonnay Investments. Mr Diamond became the sole owner upon Hutchence’s death.
“The reason for this is that he was a trusted friend of Michael Hutchence and because of that and the fact that he (MH) had various family issues, he left Colin Diamond to deal with the assets of Chardonnay,” a lawyer for Mr Diamond wrote in an email contained in the Paradise Papers.
Tiger Lily declined to comment and although she has received some money from Mr Diamond, it is nothing like the full amount of her father’s music rights.
“My understanding is that Colin Diamond is well disposed to Tiger Lily and discusses matters with her, but that is between them,” Mr Creevey told the program.
“I am no longer involved in the unreleased music side of things.”
Rhett Hutchence also questioned how Mr Diamond came into possession of Hutchence’s most personal belongings after he took his own life in the November 1977.
“Two days after Michael died, Colin Diamond went into the Rose Bay Police Station, acting as Michael’s attorney, and took hold of all of Michael’s possessions that he had with him in Australia,” he told Four Corners.
“He kindly left the belt that Michael used for my father to pick up. My father was — I mean, the whole family was completely shocked that he had actually taken all this stuff. None of that stuff has ever been released to the family. That should have been part of the estate. It’s the family stuff.”
“I think it’s about time we had a platform and told what’s been going on, because it’s, it’s injustice, you know? What has happened is injustice.”
Mr Diamond has previously claimed that he kept Hutchence’s diary and other personal items “for Tiger for many years”.