A judge has declined to quash the indictment in a high-profile criminal case over a $2.5 billion ANZ share placement but sent prosecutors back to the drawing board to remedy its defects, calling the state of affairs “a complete shemozzle”.
A former Deutsche Bank executive named in a criminal cartel case over a $2.5 billion ANZ share placement says the charges against him are defective and should be quashed.
The banks and high-ranking executives targeted in pared-down criminal cartel proceedings over a $2.5 billion ANZ share placement are taking new steps to shut down the long-running case, including further probes into the ACCC’s conduct during its investigation into the alleged cartel.
A local court magistrate overseeing the ANZ criminal cartel case has denied a bid by prosecutors to be given twice the length of time typically allotted to parties for case conference discussions, saying the sooner the proceedings can be transferred to the Federal Court the better.
A senior officer from the ACCC has rejected claims that the regulator took legal advice from immunity applicant JPMorgan before launching its high profile criminal cartel case against ANZ, Citigroup and Deutsche Bank.
A former high-ranking Deutsche Bank executive charged with involvement in an alleged cartel agreement relating to a $2.5 billion ANZ share placement claims he was dragged into the case becaused of the “incredibly slapdash” methods of the ACCC.
ANZ Banking Group has slammed a decision by the ACCC to escalate concerns that one of its key cartel witnesses was not being “full and frank”, claiming this was a way to put pressure on the witness and bring his evidence into line.
The ACCC’s investigatory techniques have come under fire during a hearing over an alleged criminal cartel agreement between ANZ and two investment banks, with a barrister for one of the banks suggesting investigators from the regulator deliberately did not take notes during hundreds of days of witness interviews to avoid disclosure.
Despite receiving immunity in a criminal cartel case against ANZ and two other investment banks, JPMorgan has disputed the existence of any cartel agreement since the early days of the ACCC’s investigations, a court has heard.
For the lawyers conducting the committal hearings in the criminal cartel case over ANZ’s $2.5 billion equity raising, the Sydney Downing Centre courtroom was already too close for comfort.