Bankruptcy trustee banned

A Melbourne-based bankruptcy trustee, Loke Ching Wong, has been banned from operating for 10 years.

The Committee of Insolvency and Trustee Service Australia (ITSA) had cancelled Wong’s registration, but he appealed to the Administration Appeals Tribunal (AAT), which subsequently upheld the ban.

Wong’s ban stemmed from eight matters in which Wong reported to creditors that his remuneration was lower than the actual final cost.

The final fees varied from 11 per cent to 244 per cent above the estimate in the creditor’s report, the committee found.

Wong also banked estate monies into his firm’s bank account instead of a special interest-bearing account on six occasions.

The committee also found irregularities with GST on bankrupt estates, proxy votes, property valuations and dealings with creditors.

The AAT had considered whether Wong’s breaches warranted the cancellation of his registration, but it agreed with the committee that the seriousness of the case warranted the penalty.

ITSA national manager, bankruptcy regulation branch, Andrew Robinson said the regulator would come down hard on serious breaches when discovered.

“Our main focus is to work co-operatively with trustees and administrators to ensure high standards of insolvency practice,” Robinson said.

“However, when serious issues are identified, the insolvency profession expects strong disciplinary action to be taken by regulators, even though this might result in the loss of livelihood as an insolvency practitioner for up to 10 years.”