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.
Australia’s corporate watchdog has lost its bid to obtain Ashurst’s advice to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group about potentially illegal bank fees “for now”, but a judge has signalled that this may not be the end of the matter.
A former high-flying trader is taking ANZ to court alleging the bank dismissed him for making complaints about attempted manipulation of a key interest rate and not, as the bank claims, for his “offensive” chats with other traders.
Ashurst notified Australia and New Zealand Banking Group almost a decade ago about issues relating to its illegal fees, ASIC has told the Federal Court as it fights for documents from the law firm.
ANZ has denied claims that it sold allegedly worthless insurance to group members in a class action against the banking giant, and has said the policies gave customers “peace of mind”.
ASIC has launched a bid to gain access to legal advice provided by Ashurst to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in the regulator’s case over $35 million in allegedly illegal bank fees.