ASIC

ASIC’s annual #insolvency data shows more than 11,000 companies entered external administration for the first time in 2023–24. Read more https://lnkd.in/gRwq-sUG #liquidation #administration #restructuring #companies

#Superannuation trustees are now required to lodge audited financial reports for funds with ASIC within three months of the end of the fund’s financial year. This new obligation promotes greater transparency and accountability in relation to superannuation funds. ASIC has built a new electronic transaction available in ASIC’s Regulatory Portal to accept lodgement of reports. We expect trustees to ensure financial reports are of high quality, containing useful and meaningful information to build public trust and confidence in the integrity of our financial system. Read more https://lnkd.in/gqJ3dyNi

ASIC has launched civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against COFCO International Australia Pty Ltd and COFCO Resources SA alleging the companies manipulated the ASX24 market for Eastern Australia Wheat futures January 2023 (WMF3) contracts. ASIC alleges COFCO manipulated contracts on 34 occasions between 17 January 2022 and 3 March 2022, placing orders shortly before the close of the day session of the ASX24 for the improper purpose of affecting the daily settlement price for the WMF3 contract. This conduct is commonly referred to as ‘marking the close’. ASIC Chair Joe Longo said, ‘ASIC is committed to responding to market manipulation in energy and commodities markets. This conduct is illegal; it erodes trust and confidence in our markets, increases costs for participants, hurts farmers, food manufacturers, importers and exporters, and impacts the prices Australians pay at the checkout.' Read more https://lnkd.in/gZt3Ptt7

Insider trading directly affects your investments in the share market and your super. ASIC has the systems, people and powers to detect and prosecute people who trade with inside information. We have also published new content on Moneysmart to help investors understand what insider trading is. Read more https://lnkd.in/gJARqz9r

ASIC Chair Joe Longo joined Bloomberg for a panel discussion on Australia’s capital markets with ASX’s Chief Executive Officer Helen Lofthouse and Barrenjoey’s Co-Executive Chair Guy Fowler. The panel discussed recent market developments and their trajectory, including the growth of private markets. ASIC today released its market cleanliness report. ‘We can say objectively now, for some time, Australia is one of the cleanest markets in the world. Investors can come to this country and be confident about the standard, transparency and efficiency around raising of capital,’ Chair Longo said. Find out more about ASIC’s latest review of Australian market cleanliness https://lnkd.in/d8H_7gQM

Australia’s equity markets continue to operate with a high level of integrity, supporting business and encouraging investor confidence, and are consistently among the cleanest in the world. Maintaining clean financial markets remains a priority focus for ASIC. Read the report https://lnkd.in/d8H_7gQM #markets #enforcement #InsiderTrading 

Following an ASIC investigation, four people have been criminally charged for their alleged involvement in a coordinated scheme to pump up shares in Australian stock values before dumping them at inflated prices. Syed Yusuf, Larissa Quinlan, Emma Summer, and Kurt Stuart were charged in the Downing Centre Local Court with conspiracy to commit market rigging and false trading, to artificially increase the price of Australian shares before dumping them. ASIC alleges that in an organised operation the defendants formed a private group on the Telegram app where they discussed and selected penny stocks to announce to the public Telegram group named the ‘ASX Pump and Dump Group’. ASIC Chair Joe Longo said, ‘Market manipulation is illegal. Pump and dump schemes are a form of financial fraud, eroding investor wealth, threatening the integrity of our markets and potentially the Australian economy more broadly.’ Read more https://lnkd.in/gwaqyS4c

ASIC understands a number of malicious websites and unofficial code are being released claiming to help entities recover from the widespread outages caused by the CrowdStrike technical incident. ASIC encourages all consumers to source their technical information and updates from official CrowdStrike sources only. Read this alert from the Australian Signals Directorate for more information.

The Federal Court has ordered American Express Australia pay $8 million in penalties for breaching the design and distribution obligations (#DDO) in relation to co-branded credit cards distributed in David Jones stores. The Court found Amex breached its obligations as a credit card issuer because they ought to have known the high rates of cancelled applications reasonably suggested the target market determinations (TMDs) for the cards were no longer appropriate. Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, ‘This is an important decision, because it highlights the requirement for issuers and distributors of financial products to customers to have in place adequate systems to monitor events and circumstances that suggest a target market determination is no longer appropriate.’ Read more https://lnkd.in/gZHsB7D3 #enforcement #credit

For the 2024 annual general meeting (AGM) season, companies should ensure their constitutions have been amended if they wish to hold virtual-only meetings of members. A recent ASIC review found some companies held virtual-only meetings without having constitutions that expressly required or permitted them - or had not lodged the relevant company resolutions with ASIC. There are specific requirements for how an entity may amend its constitution. Find out more https://lnkd.in/gFWY2HxS #companies #AGM