The judge overseeing proceedings brought against logistics company GetSwift has refused the corporate regulator’s request for another year’s worth of documents, saying it could effectively require the company to start the discovery process over again.
The Australian Securities and Investigations is making up for lost time, ramping up its investigation and litigation efforts following a blistering critique by the banking royal commission of its soft enforcement approach.
The Federal Court’s top judge has urged ASIC and ANZ to continue their “litigation good faith” in the corporate cop’s action over $35 million in allegedly illegal customer fees charged by the bank, and cautioned the two sides against slogging it out with a “staged trench warfare” mentality.
A judge has ordered ASIC and defence shipbuilder Austal to try to narrow the scope of documents at the centre of the regulator’s case challenging the company’s claims of legal professional privilege.
Westpac has defeated a responsible lending case brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in relation to almost 262,000 home loans, with the Federal Court finding the corporate regulator misinterpreted the operation of national lending laws.
ASIC has abandoned its market manipulation case against National Australia Bank contractor Whitebox Trading, just over a month after the financial regulator decided to appeal the Federal Court’s primary decision to throw out their case.
National Australia Bank and the director of the collapsed Walton Construction face a possible lawsuit over more than $70 million in claims after the Federal Court gave the greenlight to the appointment of a special purpose liquidator to pursue the case.
A judge on Friday asked the corporate regulator why it delayed action against former Murray Goulburn managing director Gary Helou and CFO Bradley Hingle until two years’ after the consumer watchdog brought its case against the pair.
Former Tennis Australia director Harold Mitchell has told a court that the corporate regulator had to be dragged “kicking and screaming” to produce documents in its enforcement action over alleged breaches of directorial duties involving negotiations for the Australian Open broadcast rights.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has warned superannuation funds they face criminal penalties if they try to win over employers with tickets to sporting events or other gifts.