Criminal charges against CBA dropped
Criminal proceedings against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) regarding sales of consumer credit insurance have been dismissed by the Federal Court due to a statute bar.
The bank had previously pled guilty to 30 criminal charges of making false or misleading representations to customers when selling consumer credit insurance between 2011 and 2015.
The proceedings were filed in 2021 but the Federal Court ruled there was a limitation period under the ASIC Act which required proceedings for an offence of this type to be commenced within three years. This rendered the charges against CBA invalid as they were statute barred.
The proceedings were dismissed on 14 December, 2022 with each party to bear their own costs.
The matter was being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecution following an investigation and referral by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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