Morrison Securities Pty Ltd pays $333,000 infringement notice – June 22, 2023
Morrison has paid a penalty of A$333,000 ($222,515) to comply with an infringement notice brought by the Markets Disciplinary Panel (MDP).
The MDP said it had “reasonable grounds to consider” that Morrison contravened Rule 5.9.1 of the ASIC Market Integrity Rules” six times on October 27, 2021 and once on November 2, 2021.
On October 2021, a client inadvertently directed six orders to buy or sell securities to the Chi-X market, instead of ASX’s closing auction. The orders were recognised by Morrison’s filters as aberrant orders and diverted to its Designated Trading Representatives (DTR) for review – and approved. This resulted in significant price variations for the securities. The same happened in November, where one of two orders was approved by the DTR.
The MDP have characterised Morrison’s conduct as at the high end of ‘careless’, and said that having DTRs manually review large volumes of trades per day is not best industry practice.
Victorian director disqualified for two years – June 22, 2023
Harry Neville Dickinson has been disqualified from managing corporations for two years due to his involvement in the failure of three companies.
Between August 2008 and January 2022, Dickinson was the director of DFL Group Australia Pty Limited, Vcomms Connect Pty Limited, and Cash Plus Australia Pty Limited – which entered liquidation between January 2020 and January 2022.
As a director, ASIC found that Markham failed to:
- act with due care and diligence over the activities of the companies;
- maintain appropriate books and records for Dgroup or VComms; and
- ensure that Dgroup did not trade whilst insolvent.
At the time of ASIC’s decision, the three companies owed a combined total of A$3,504,830 ($2,342,899) to unsecured creditors, including around A$148,000 ($98,935) to the Australian Taxation Office.
ASIC accepts court enforceable undertaking from Brisbane financial adviser – 22 June 22, 2023
A court-enforceable undertaking from former Acquire Strategic Advisers Pty Ltd director and financial adviser Gregory Blackaby has been accepted.
In ASIC’s investigation, it was found that Blackaby failed to keep adequate and up-to-date records of him providing clients with services they were entitled to under ongoing service arrangements.
By the undertaking, Blackaby has agreed to not:
- carry on a financial services business;
- provide financial services; or
- act in a managerial capacity of any financial services business, or provide legal, accounting or other advisory services to a financial services business.
Both Blackaby and Capstone Financial Planning, where he was an authorised representative, are also undertaking a remediation program for his clients. To date, this has refunded over A$500,000 ($333,550) to those where the records were not sufficient enough. With the undertaking, Blackaby is also required to notify all clients of the remediation program and their rights to complain to AFCA.
NSW director disqualified for three and a half years – June 22, 2023
John Vaughan Markham has been disqualified from managing corporations for three and a half years after failing to meet his obligations as a director of three companies.
Markham was the director of Active Towing Sydney Pty Ltd, Ryde & District Smash Repairs Pty Ltd, and Active Towing Enterprises Pty Ltd. between March 1991 and November 2020, which all entered liquidation between November 2019 and February 2021.
As a director, ASIC found that Markham failed to:
- ensure that companies complied with their ATO statutory lodgement obligations;
- properly use his position by entering into a sale agreement that deprived Active Towing Sydney of its only income generating assets, which included allowing for the proceeds of the sale agreement, and other funds, to be withdrawn and transferred out of the company’s accounts;
- obtain employment obligations due to Active Towing Sydney, where one employee had amounts deducted from wages between 2015 to 2018, and did not receive his accrued annual leave pay when leaving the company;
- ensure that the companies complied with financial records obligations; and
- had Ryde & District Smash Repairs incur debts when it was suspected that the company was insolvent.
At the time of ASIC’s decision, the companies owed a combined total of A$1,833,747 ($1,227,921) to unsecured creditors, including approximately A$1,472,006 ($985,691) to the Australian Taxation Office.
APBG Capital Pty Ltd loses license – 15 June 15, 2023
The Australian financial services (AFS) licence has been cancelled for APBG Capital Pty Ltd because the company has ceased to carry on a financial services business.
With the AFS license, companies are authorised to deal in interests in managed investment schemes and provide general financial advice to wholesale clients.
Ex CFO charged with insider trading – June 13, 2023
Andrew Scott Corner, the former CFO of Big Un Limited, has been charged with insider trading – violating s1043A(1) of the Corporations Act. Allegedly, in 2027, Corner held inside information when he procured two private companies (Big Un’s subsidiary, Big Review TV Limited and Sydney-based financier, First Class Capital) to sell 1.7 million Big Un shares valued at more than A$5m ($3.4m).
Big Un, one of the top performing shares on the ASX in 2017, had its shares suspended from trading in February 2018 after information about Big Un’s funding arrangement with First Class Capital went public.
Big Un, which was placed into voluntary administration and delisted from the ASX in August 2018, is now in liquidation, as is Big Review TV.
At the time of the alleged offence, the maximum penalty was 10 years in prison and/or a fine of 4,500 penalty units, or three times of the total value of the obtained benefits. Since March 2019, the penalty has increased to 15 years imprisonment and/or a fine of 4,500 penalty units.
In connection to Big Un, ASIC has also earlier taken actions against:
- Graham Rothesay Swan, the auditor of Big Un, who was convicted for failing to conduct the 2017 audit of Big Un with auditing standards (22-198MR).
- Jakin Leong Loke had his auditor registration suspended for 12 months over his involvement in the 2017 audit of Big Un (22-049MR).
- Michael Ming Jinn Ho, former investment analyst, was sentenced to three years imprisonment to be served via an intensive correction order. Ho was convicted on five counts of insider trading and one count of communicating inside information (20-209MR).
Richard Evans, Big Un’s former CEO, is also facing charges for allegedly communicating inside information to Ho in 2017 (23-025MR).