Clive Palmer’s team has denied that the billionaire bought a car owned by Adolf Hitler, calling it “fake news”.
News Corp reported last week that Palmer, an avid collector of rare cars, had bought the Nazi leader’s bulletproof 1939 770 Grosser Offener Tourenwagen Mercedes-Benz from an unnamed Russian billionaire.
The report claimed that Palmer planned to include the Mercedes, which has been traded privately since being seized in France at the end of the war, in a new car museum he planned for the Gold Coast.
Reports of the alleged purchase prompted an intervention from home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, who demanded an explanation and said Palmer would have to comply with Australia’s strict import and customs regulations.
“I understand why people may find this [alleged] purchase by Clive Palmer offensive,” Andrews said. “It’s up to Clive Palmer to explain his own actions.”
Reports of the purchase prompted concerns from two key Jewish community groups, who said they were “deeply troubled” by the news.
When contacted by Guardian Australia on Thursday, a spokesperson for Palmer dismissed reporting of the purchase as “fake news”.
“Clive Palmer hasn’t bought Adolf Hitler’s car,” the spokesperson said.
Further clarification was sought from Palmer’s spokesperson. None was forthcoming by the time of publication.
Earlier on Thursday, the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive, Darren Bark, had said that, if the reports were true, purchasing the car would trivialise “the pain and suffering endured by millions of innocent lives including our Australian servicemen and women, who fought to defeat the Nazis.”
“Artefacts from the Nazi era belong in a Holocaust museum, to educate the next generation about how words of hate can lead to violence against minority groups.”
Jewish Community Council of Victoria president, Daniel Aghion, also described the potential acquisition of the car as “gruesome”.
There is currently no restriction on importing rare and classic cars, but such vehicles are frequently found to contain asbestos, often in their brake and engine components, and are typically held to allow testing by the Australian Border Force and state and territory authorities.
Attempting to import asbestos can lead to fines for individuals of up to $180,000 or three times the value of the goods, whichever is the greater. The penalties for companies are greater.
There is no suggestion that Palmer is sympathetic to nazism or has ever supported Hitler, his regime, or neo-nazism.
Palmer is well known to be an avid collector of cars.
Palmer was reported to have acquired the Mercedes along with a Rolls-Royce owned by King Edward VIII.
In 2018, local media in the United States reported that the car had failed to sell at auction for USD$7m.
The report said that, had the car sold, 10% of the sale price would have gone to Jewish human rights organisation, the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Worldwide Auctioneers, who were conducting the auction, said at the time that negotiations with the bidder would continue privately.
Worldwide Auctioneers could not be reached for comment.
