The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has begun civil proceeding against the founder and former directors of LM Investment Management Ltd (LMIM) alleging the directors failed in their duties to act with diligence and will seek financial penalties and banning orders.
ASIC will claim in the Federal Court of Australia that LMIM founder Peter Charles Drake used his position to gain an advantage for himself, while former directors Francene Maree Mulder, Eghard van der Hoven, Simon Jeremy Tickner, and Lisa Maree Darcy will be alleged to have failing to act with the proper degree of care and diligence regarding transactions involving the LM Managed Performance Fund (MPF).
ASIC stated it civil proceedings would focus on the conduct of the directors when they signed off on a loans to Maddison Estate Pty Ltd in 2011 and 2012, which was owned and controlled by Drake at that time.
According to ASIC, MPF loaned funds to Maddison Estate to conduct a property development on the Gold Coast and at the time Drake was both the sole director of Maddison Estate and the beneficiary of a discretionary trust, managed by another company controlled and owned by him, that held all the beneficial ownership in the company.
ASIC is also seeking to disqualify Drake and the former directors from managing companies and providing financial services who may also be hit with fines for breaching their duties as directors, which can reach a maximum level of $200,000.
