He was charged with improperly using his position to obtain management fees, briefly arrested and spent a night in jail. However, he was subsequently released and allowed to regain his passport. He promptly fled the country. His discovery on the Spanish island of Majorca in 1991 by the "Sydney Morning Herald" sparked intense media interest. In 1994, the Australian Securities Commission assembled a case against Skase, with the assistance of former Skase associate Lawrence Van der Plaat, and began to chase him in earnest.