Bankrupt Vlahos says he can't afford to fly to Sydney court hearing FALLEN punting club architect Bill Vlahos failed to appear at a court hearing in Sydney today, saying he is bankrupt and can't get there. Mr Vlahos did not attend this morning's hearing at the NSW Supreme Court, where he is being sued over an alleged $26 million debt. He instead phoned the court at 8.53am, an hour before the hearing was scheduled to start, and claimed he did not have enough money to fly to Sydney. Justice Michael Slattery read out notes of a phone conversation between Mr Vlahos and his associate. He said Mr Vlahos was not attending because he was bankrupt but that he wanted the court to know he was aware of the case. "He also says he has safety issues to attend, there are police files," Justice Slattery said of Mr Vlahos' comments. Mr Vlahos also rang the court at 6.15pm last night. He told a security guard he was due to appear today but that he was in Melbourne. "Due to the bankruptcy he has no money, he is self-represented," Justice Slattery read out in court. Aloga is suing Mr Vlahos over a $26 million debt of winnings from controversial punters club The Edge, which has now collapsed leaving punters millions of dollars out of pocket. Robert Dick, SC, for Aloga, a company formed by an alliance of punters club members sought to have existing orders, which include a freeze of Mr Vlahos's bank accounts, to continue. The orders also require that Mr Vlahos surrender his passport. Mr Dick said he had received an email from Mr Vlahos this week with a copy of a deed of release from mysterious punter Daniel Maxwell, who was to have placed the bets for the punters club on international markets. The deed was dated December 3. The Herald Sun has seen a similar document, which relates to Mr Maxwell releasing his claim on almost $200 million of punters club funds contained in a Westpac account. Mr Dick said he was suspicious of the document. "We don't necessarily regard this document as authentic," he said. Justice Slattery continued the orders but said Mr Vlahos's passport should be moved from the court file to the registrar's office. Mr Vlahos's trustee Clyde White of PCI Partners could apply to have the passport, which was standard practice in bankruptcy cases, he said. But the passport would be held in trust at his office and not in Mr Vlahos's possession. The case was adjourned until February 6 next year.