ASIC

Kicking off its case against former Noumi CEO Rory Macleod, ASIC has told the court that Macleod was clearly aware of the "dramatic" difference between actual available stock and what was reported to the market in 2019 and 2020.

An executive director at ASIC has said the High Court has “opened the door” for regulators to rely on a new way to prove corporate wrongdoing that does not require establishing that individuals within a company had a wrongful intent or relevant knowledge. 

A judge has questioned whether Macquarie Financial should get 70 per cent of an interim $102 million distribution to people who sank their retirement savings into Keystone’s Shield Master Fund, which is being investigated for misuse of investor funds.

Defunct forex broker Union Standard and its former agents have been hit with a combined $300.2 million penalty for “egregious” contraventions, including deliberately pushing risky derivative contracts onto inexperienced investors.

Lendlease has dropped KPMG as its auditor, after it was revealed under parliamentary privilege that the firm misused the developer's confidential client data. 

A lawyer for ASIC has told a judge that $300 million in Shield Master Fund investments intended for property developments appear to have been diverted for other purposes.

Insurer QBE has admitted liability in ASIC’s case alleging it made empty promises to over half a million customers on policy discounts, but a dispute over the size of the penalty remains.

Partners from Allens and Ashurst and senior executives at Lendlease are among those appearing at next week's parliamentary committee inquiry into KPMG's misuse of client data.

Clive Palmer's resort company Palmer Leisure Coolum has entered a guilty plea to one count of breaching takeover law arising from the proposed acquisition of The President’s Club.

ASIC has told a senate estimates committee that it is now formally investigating KPMG in the wake of allegations the firm misused client data.