ASIC swoops on unregistered schemes
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has applied to the Victorian Supreme Court to close 22 unregistered investment schemes and their corporate promoters and trustees, including ABC Fund Managers.
ASIC has also applied for declarations that ABC Fund Managers, Wharton Partners and other companies have promoted the schemes in breach of the Corporations Law.
ASIC alleges that many of the financial transactions involved in the establishment, management and operation of the schemes were illegal.
The scheme records suggest that in excess of $105 million was invested in the 22 schemes from 1995 to at least 1998.
ASIC Victorian director commercial operations Debra Russell says the schemes did not operate with ordinary investments or commercial activities but instead existed merely for the purposes of facilitating taxation deductions.
"It depends on the size of the fund, but we believed that they [ABC Funds Managers] needed to be registered," she says.
"They had more than 20 members and were raising funds without a prospectus."
The matter was adjourned until March 9, 2001.
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