Victims of Financial Fraud (VOFF) has called for former Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) chair, Greg Medcraft, to be recalled from France to front the Royal Commission, alleging that the regulator “pursue[d] family-owned and run advisory firms to ruination” under his watch.
The victim advocacy group said Medcraft needed to “face the music” and explain why “he fostered and encouraged lawlessness right across the banking and financial services sector to the detriment of unsuspecting customers across the country”.
“Criminal and civil corporate misbehaviour flourished undetected for nearly a decade at a massive cost to ordinary Australians” under Medcraft’s watch, VOFF said.
“For eight years whilst head of the corporate regulator, the banks have trashed financial services laws, unashamedly ripping off hundreds of thousands of Australians.”
VOFF called for Medcraft and his deputy, Peter Kell, to be held as accountable as bank executives such as Craig Meller and Catherine Brenner.
“Failure of the head of government regulatory bodies should be treated no differently to the failure of chief executives of the big banks and the punishment should be consistent without fear or favour.”
The group also said that there should be an immediate end to what it alleges were “political appointments” such as Medcraft’s to key corporate governance positions.
These demands bring VOFF’s response to the Royal Commission to fever pitch, following calls both for regulators to face tougher scrutiny and for global sanctioning of Medcraft under the Global Magnitsky Act.
