Despite a record haul of enforcement outcomes for the 2002/03 financial year, theAustralian Securities and Investments Commission(ASIC) has pledged to be even more ruthless in pursuing offenders.
In the regulator’s annual report released yesterday, ASIC says the public rates enforcement as its highest priority, and it plans to “produce results that will justify this shift in opinion”.
Over the financial year, ASIC jailed a total of 16 financial advisers for cheating their clients as well as two investment fraudsters.
These came from a record total of 29 people jailed for fraud, criminal breach of duties or insider trading, which compared to a total of 19 jailed in 2001/02.
ASIC also banned a total of 39 people from offering financial advice. Twenty of them were banned permanently, with the other 19 undertaking to stay out of the industry for shorter periods of time.
The regulator also acted against 43 illegal schemes involving more than $200 million, and obtained 311 corrective disclosures, while taking out 67 civil proceedings resulting in orders against 151 people or companies, $121 million in recoveries and compensation orders and $2 million in frozen assets.
Over the year, $69 million or 40 per cent of ASIC’s expenses went on this enforcement activity, helping to push its total expenses for the financial year up from $159.9 million in 2001/02 to $172.6 million.
ASIC outgoing chairman David Knott says enforcement is an essential part of effective regulation.
“In the current domestic and international environment, the fight against fraud and misconduct has pervaded much of our work,” Knott says.
