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CANBERRA - The saga of former Queensland beauty student-cum-drug smuggler Schapelle Corby is rapidly becoming an epic.
Corby remains in jail in Bali, waiting for her last-shot appeal against the 20-year sentence imposed after she was convicted in 2005 of bringing 4.1kg of cannabis into the Indonesian resort island, stuffed into a boogie-board bag.
But on the outside her supporters remain locked in combat with the purveyors of allegations of drug producing and smuggling by not only Corby, but her wider family.
Corby's sister Mercedes has announced she is suing the Channel 7 current affairs show Today Tonight, and its informant, former family friend Jodi Power, over the claims.
Now they are also about to take on the Australian Government over its intention to seize hundreds of thousands of dollars paid for the rights to Corby's story.
Her book, My Story, has already sold more than 100,000 copies. But the Federal Government is determined she should not see a cent, and is seeking the money under laws against profiting from the proceeds of crime.
Details of the case have emerged in confidential court documents obtained by the Australian, showing that publisher Pan Macmillan paid a A$350,000 ($395,500) advance for the book rights, with another A$110,000 from the Australian Women's Weekly to allow it to print extracts.
The newspaper said the contract awarded 85 per cent of the advance, and any future royalties, to Mercedes Corby.
It said that on March 2 the Queensland Court of Appeal froze A$267,500, paid into the bank account of Mercedes' husband Wayan Widyartha, to allow the federal Director Public Prosecutions (DPP) to apply for confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The publishers were about to send another A$68,000 before the DPP successfully appealed a Brisbane District Court decision on February 15.
A further A$2000 was paid by News Ltd for an exclusive picture and secondary rights to My Story, although group said it had been assured Schapelle Corby would not receive any of the money.
Mercedes Corby and writer Kathryn Bonella earned another A$15,000 from a story for New Idea.
The court documents show that fears of confiscation were held from the first.
Bonella, who co-authored My Story with Corby, emailed publisher Tom Gilliatt from Indonesia last October expressing her concerns.
She said she was living under an alias and asked replies be addressed to as "Lisa".
Gilliatt believed there would be no problems.
"My understanding is that you're at no risk since the Act is to stop those convicted of a crime profiting from it [and even that's arguable in court]," the Australian quotes Gilliatt as replying.
Nonetheless, he advised Mercedes Corby to invoice the publisher to enable her to be paid before the book became public knowledge.
The Australian Federal Police, meanwhile, were tracking Bonella through the emails and used the Immigration Department to follow Pan Macmillan employees.
Federal Police agent Elizabeth Corkery said in an affidavit that she suspected the payments to Mercedes Corby were in fact intended for her sister.
Police say the money should be refunded under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The Corby family said the money would be used to fund ongoing legal action.
