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The regulator is “closely monitoring directors who do not comply with their obligations”.
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ASIC prosecutes 81 for failing to assist liquidators
24 February 2023
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ASIC prosecuted 81 individuals for 140 offences involving a failure to assist registered liquidators during the second half of 2022, securing more than $350,000 in fines.
The actions took the total for the year to 154 individual prosecuted and almost $700,000 in fines as the number of companies in external administration climbed back to pre-pandemic levels.
ASIC said the prosecutions under the Corporations Act involved a failure to comply with fundamental governance obligations to provide registered liquidators with access to company books and submit a report on company activities and property (ROCAP) where a company has been placed in external administration.
“When officers don’t provide a company’s books and ROCAP in a timely manner, it hinders liquidators from properly conducting their investigations and obtaining the best possible outcome for creditors,” ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court said.
“At a time when the number of corporate insolvencies is increasing to pre-COVID levels, ASIC is closely monitoring directors who do not comply with their obligations and will take action accordingly.”
The individuals were prosecuted summarily in local and magistrates’ courts by ASIC and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
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ASIC said it gave individuals an opportunity to comply with their statutory obligations to assist registered liquidators before undertaking a prosecution. It would then take enforcement action if directors and officers continued to prevent liquidators from having access to company books and ROCAP.
In 2021, ASIC prosecuted 228 and secured almost $624,000 in penalties.
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