The funder behind a class action against Westpac over allegedly excessive insurance premiums has confirmed that it will continue backing the case despite earlier concerns it may pull out in the wake of the High Court’s landmark ruling on common fund orders.
Six of Australia’s biggest financial services institutions have so far paid or offered $749.7 million in compensation to hundreds of thousands of customers who were provided with non compliant financial advice or charged fees for no service, but the refunds to date are just the tip of the iceberg.
A judge has sentenced the founder of defunct whitegoods distributor Kleenmaid to nine years in prison for his role in a $13 million fraud against Westpac, saying it would be “obnoxious and naive” to consider his crimes victimless.
Westpac is now facing at least eight class actions in various US courts seeking $200 million from the bank for allegedly failing to alert shareholders to violations of anti-money laundering laws.
Westpac is facing its first shareholder class action in the US following revelations that it violated anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance laws on more than 23 million occasions, in the first lawsuit to point the finger at the company’s executives.
A US-based plaintiffs firm is planning a class action against Westpac alleging it failed to alert investors to significant lapses in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance compliance, which led to a bombshell lawsuit by AUSTRAC last year.
A year after Commissioner Kenneth Hayne released his scathing report, companies in the financial services sector are still facing fresh class actions over conduct aired at the banking royal commission, and the pace has even picked up in recent months.
Litigation funder IMF Bentham has shrugged off concerns about the High Court’s recent ruling on common fund orders, telling investors that it’s in a position to take over some class actions from funders daunted by the prospect of bookbuilding.
A new superannuation bill working its way through the Federal Parliament should include a right of action for employees to seek damages against businesses that fail to make super payments, according to a Maurice Blackburn partner.
A Sydney solicitor who was found liable for investor losses in a sports betting scheme masterminded by convicted conman Peter Foster may seek to shift the blame onto Westpac for the bank’s alleged failure to flag funds shifted offshore from the scheme.