ASIC may yet pursue Iraq bribery breaches
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has sought to clarify its decision not to pursue directors of the Reserve Bank of Australia subsidiaries Securency and Note Printing Australia, claiming it will now consider matters relating to the Iraq bribery allegations.
However, in doing so, it said it "must be stressed that a six-year statute of limitations applies to civil penalty cases".
The ASIC clarification came as financial planners and others were highly critical of not only its decision not to pursue action against the former directors but its citing of prosecutions against financial planners and fund managers as examples of its regulatory effectiveness.
Claiming that some sections of the media may have misinterpreted its approach, the ASIC clarifying statement said the 10,000 pages of documents provided to it by the Australian Federal Police which had formed the basis of its decision not to pursue action had related to Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Nepal, rather than Iraq.
"The Iraq bribery allegations will be considered but it must be stressed that a six-year statute of limitations applies to civil penalty cases," the regulator's statement said.
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