Court freezes assets of unregistered MIS
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has obtained interim orders from the Federal Court to freeze the assets of Ascent Investment and Coaching and firm’s director, Michael Dunjey.
ASIC sought the orders to help protect investor funds while an investigation is continuing and Dunjey was also ordered to surrender his passport and be restrained from leaving Australia.
ASIC’s application for these orders was made while ASIC investigates concerns that:
- Funds may have been raised through misrepresentations made to investors;
- Investor funds may have been improperly dealt with;
- Ascent may have been operating an unregistered managed investment scheme.
Justice Darren Jackson ordered that Ascent and Dunjey be restrained from (among other things):
- Removing property from Australia;
- Selling, charging, mortgaging, dealing with or disposing of property;
- Incurring new liabilities; or
- Withdrawing, transferring, disposing of or dealing with money held in bank accounts or with a financial institution (subject to limited exceptions).
The orders have effect until a further hearing before the Court which is listed to take place on 21 December, 2021.
Recommended for you
Government has introduced a bill to Parliament to legislate the first stream of the QAR reforms.
ASIC now has a 1:1 ratio when it comes to court success in the enforcement of crypto activities and more action is expected as Treasury seeks to introduce a regulatory framework.
A leading governance body has hit out at “specialist interest groups proposing ad hoc law reform” when it comes to reforms of financial services legislation and believes an independent body is needed.
The release of ALRC’s final report into financial services legislation has highlighted financial advice as a “significant” focus as it seeks to reduce costs and help advisers understand their obligations, alongside the Quality of Advice Review.
