TheAustrailan Prudential Regulation Authority(APRA) has replaced the trustee of a small superannuation fund based in Victoria after discovering the fund directors were also officers of the employer sponsor which had secured loans from the fund.
The Colors Superannuation Fund was investigated by APRA in August, after which the prudential watchdog froze all remaining assets in the fund following consent from the assistant treasurer.
APRA found that the directors of the fund were also officers of the employer sponsor which operated in the media and advertising industries. The directors had made unsecured loans to the employer sponsor which amounted to approximately 80 per cent of the fund’s total assets. APRA says the employer was subsequently placed into liquidation.
APRA’s executive general manager Brandon Khoo says APRA has replaced the trustee of Colors to protect the interests of the members.
“We have appointedStockfordSuperannuation as acting trustee. APRA will provide them with the initial funding to assess the state of the fund, undertake necessary account reconstruction and commence any action in the interests of members,” Khoo says.
The news of this move comes just a week after APRA’s executive general manager of policy, research and consulting, Charles Littrell hinted that the regulator was in the process of requesting two trustees to hand in their licenses. Littrell was speaking at the NSW Chapter of the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia.
