The liquidators of Melbourne-based forex trader Berndale Capital have filed examination proceedings in the Federal Court seeking to question the company’s former CEO and its other directors.
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.
Defunct Dover Financial, which faces a penalty hearing next year after it was found to have misled customers with an inaptly titled ‘client protection policy’, can bring an application for evidence from the corporate regulator that the policy did not harm anyone.
Not bowed by its defeat against Westpac in a case over alleged responsible lending breaches, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has brought action against Volkswagen alleging similar violations of the credit laws in relation to almost 50,000 car loans over three years.
Litigation funder IMF Bentham has thrown in the towel in a battle over its cut of a $42 million settlement in a class action against dairy cooperative Murray Goulburn, accepting the Federal Court’s proposed 25 per cent commission rate after initially seeking 32 per cent.
Engineering services company CIMIC has agreed to settle a long-running shareholder class action launched in the wake of media reports of an alleged $42 million bribe paid by the firm to win a lucrative oil contract.
A judge has vacated an upcoming trial date in a criminal cartel proceeding against mobile equipment provider Country Care Group and two individuals, and allowed the defendants to appeal a first-of-its-kind ruling on jury directions in criminal cartel cases.
A Federal Court judge has ordered Westpac to pay a $9.15 million penalty after one of its financial advisers breached the best interests duty by giving customers bad advice that resulted in millions in losses.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has raised preliminary competition concerns about Bauer Media’s planned $40 million acquisition of Pacific Magazines, a deal that would combine Australia’s two largest magazine publishers, saying competition needs to be preserved even in declining markets.
Westpac is facing a class action on behalf shareholders in three countries over its alleged anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing breaches and disclosures.