The Federal Court of Australia has rejected the main challenges to an Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) investigation into the demise of Storm Financial.
The Bank of Queensland, Senrac and Macquarie Bank had asked the court to strike out and dismiss the whole or part of ASIC’s statement of claim.
However, Justice Lindsay Foster declined to strike out the statement of claim filed by ASIC on behalf of two former Storm investors, Barry and Deanna Doyle.
He did require ASIC to clarify certain aspects by filing an amended statement of claim.
The legal proceedings, which have been running for almost a year, have the watchdog acting on behalf of the two former investors and is separate from other legal claims.
ASIC has separately instigated legal proceedings against Storm, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, BOQ and Macquarie Bank based on the alleged operation by Storm of an unregistered managed investment scheme in which the banks were allegedly involved, while civil penalty proceedings against Emmanuel and Julie Cassimatis have also commenced.
Other legal firms are known to be watching developments with interest.
The whole Storm debacle has done damage to the Planning profession and become part of the catalyst for change by the Federal government, which is needed like a hole in the head.( change is needed but not what we are be subjected to)
I agree that every guilty party, including those in associated businesses should be severely dealt with, including the employees of ASIC who through there inaction and incompetence allowed the operation to continue for years. Making the eventual loss to people enormous.
Could you trust someone who “missed” the whole Storm problem until it was to late to write a report on Superannuation?
I can’t
And so the “twister’ chasing should continue, until every guilty party from all the associated business’s have been dealt with, and the PI has been emptied,
I have been unable to talk to many potential clients since this absolute greed and unprofessional ” planning ” came undone.
atrocious.