01/420e ASIC annual report: Queensland
Thursday 29 November 2001
The Queensland office of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) had a busy year enforcing the Corporations Act and protecting investors, as outlined in the 2000/2001 Annual Report tabled in Federal Parliament today.
Major enforcement action
Seven corporate criminals were jailed as a result of action by ASIC's Queensland office, most notably Geoffrey Dexter who was jailed for 10 years for his part in promoting the failed Wattle scheme, in which over 2700 investors lost $160 million. This sentence is subject to appeal.
Donald Clarke, an unlicensed investment adviser, was jailed in December for nine years after pleading guilty to misappropriating $551,851 from investors.
John Laurence Skinner was sentenced to four and a half years' jail for defrauding investors of $259,000; Dennis Joseph Wallace was sentenced to four years for defrauding investors of $182,000; and Christopher Bruce Smith was sentenced to two years after defrauding a pensioner of $119,400.
Brian Peter Dodd was a licenced investment adviser formerly with Ord Minnett, who was jailed for 18 months for making profits of $473,973 by trading on his clients' names.
In October Karl William Brooks was sentenced to jail for managing a company while he was disqualified from doing so, and which went into liquidation with debts of over $500,000.
Civil action and compensation
ASIC's Brisbane Office has recovered $2.175 million for investors and creditors in 13 matters including Sean Seeto, Brian Dodd, Chris Smith, William Kelaart, Ord Minnett Jardine Futures, Basineau Pty Ltd, Dymatech, Enterprise Systems 2000, Bradley Flynn, Frank and Carol Spindler, John Skinner and Denis Wallace, and Neil Pethers. In some cases although orders for recovery of the funds have been obtained, the money is yet to be paid to investors.
A total of $11.6 millions in assets has been frozen during investigations involving Kerry Burke, Triscott, Bradley Flynn, Graham and Jennifer Anderson, Groudhog Developments Pty Ltd and Roadships Ltd.
Administrative enforcement
As part of ASIC’s ongoing campaign to protect investors and consumers from unscrupulous people, four men were banned from acting as securities or investment advisers.
In January Christopher Maddocks, a former Ord Minnett Jardine Flemming Futures Ltd director and futures adviser was banned for four years after ASIC found he had undertaken unauthorised discretionary trading and allocated shares on a preferential basis.
Also in January Philip John Maguire, a representative of Garrisons Pty Ltd, was banned indefinitely from the securities industry after becoming bankrupt. Brian Peter Dodd was permanently banned from acting in the securities industry.
We placed conditions on the registration of 2 insurance brokers - Allstate and Neil Pethers. ASIC had concerns that Allstate had dealt with money received from its customers in breach of the provisions of the Insurance (Agents and Brokers) Act 1984, and accepted an enforceable undertaking from the company addressing those concerns.
ASIC commenced an investigation into Mr Pethers' insurance broking business following concerns that the firm had a deficiency in its insurance broking account, and Mr Pethers gave an enforceable undertaking to ASIC implementing a number of reforms.
We successfully brought disciplinary proceedings in the CALDB against two company auditors: Stuart Gooley, an audit partner with Arthur Andersen whose registration was suspended for two years and reduced to a reprimand on appeal to the AAT; and Lionel Hendy, a Brisbane liquidator whose licence was suspended for 18 months.
Enforceable undertakings
We accepted enforceable undertakings in nine separate matters (OMT, Pethers, Tyndall, Ingwerson & Lansdown, Dymatech, Burrell Stockbroking, IC Mutual, Peel River, Allstate). These undertakings enabled us to obtain wide-ranging remedies on behalf of more people than can usually be obtained in court proceedings.
Solicitors mortgage schemes
In February 2001 ASIC announced a major investigation into solicitors mortgage schemes. Significant effort has been expended to ensure these schemes are brought under the regulation of the Corporations Act and that unregulated schemes are wound up, and enforcement action to date has included administrative, civil and criminal proceedings.
| Greg Tanzer Regional Commissioner Telephone: 07 3867 4704 Mobile: 0411 549 144 |
ASIC Media Unit Telephone: 02 9911 2600 Mobile: 0412 673 038 |