The Federal Government has moved to significantly lift the penalties which can be imposed for those found guilty of involvement in illegal early release superannuation schemes.
The higher penalties are contained in legislation introduced by the Minister for Financial Services, Bill Shorten, and will see the promoters of such schemes facing both civil and criminal penalties including a fine of up to $340,000 and the possibility of imprisonment for up to five years.
Announcing the introduction of the legislation, Shorten pointed out that there are currently no specific promoter penalties under superannuation law.
The Minister claimed that a number of other reforms also introduced would increase confidence in the superannuation sector, including giving the Australian Taxation Office powers to address wrongdoing and non-compliance by self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) trustees, and capturing rollovers to SMSFs as a designated service under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act.
