The corporate regulator should not be immune from the risk of special costs for actions doomed to fail, says a judge who flayed ASIC last month for bringing a case against TerraCom directors it should have known was a dud.
Former director of fintech iSignthis, John Karantzis, plans to appeal a ruling that slapped him with a $1 million penalty and disqualification orders for allegedly providing misleading information to shareholders.
A judge has handed iSignthis and its director $11 million in penalties for failing to give adequate disclosures and giving misleading information to the ASX, saying reliance on legal advice was no reason to reduce the fine.
A former SBS journalist has asked the court to take the red pen to most of a lawsuit alleging she engaged in racial discrimination with several social media posts about Gaza.
A judge has criticised Mayfair Group’s “directing mind” James Mawhinney in a do-over of ASIC’s case over notes tied to Mission Beach properties, saying “vociferous and continuous efforts” to blame others, including lawyers, for investor losses did not reflect well on him.
A judge has said ASIC should have known that its case against four TerraCom directors over statements made to investors had no prospects of success, calling one of its submissions “unworthy of the corporations regulator”.
ASIC has told a court that a PwC report into allegations of inaccurate coal pricing found that 12 “inconsistent” invoices issued by TerraCom resulted in a $1.15 million benefit to the company, contrary to the company’s claim that the audit found no wrongdoing.
Penalty proceedings in ASIC’s case against coal producer TerraCom have been put on ice until the regulator’s suit against the company’s directors goes to trial.
Coal producer TerraCom has agreed to pay $7.5 million to resolve ASIC proceedings alleging it made misleading statement to the market that damaged a whistleblower’s reputation.
ASIC has won winding up orders against investment firm Falcon Capital and its managed investment scheme First Guardian Master Fund, after raising concerns about potential risks to investors.