Tax scheme promoter in court
A promoter of past tax schemes involving ostrich farming and beef production has had to surrender his passport after theAustralian Securities and Investments Commissionlevelled 36 charges against him relating to selling securities.
Colin Roderick McAskill of Glen Iris in Victoria was yesterday committed to stand trial in the Melbourne County Court on three charges of selling securities without an approved deed, four charges of making false and misleading statements in relation to securities, seven charges of obtaining property by deception and 22 charges of theft.
McAskill has pleaded not guilty to all charges, and was bailed to appear before the County Court on March 1, 2002. He was also forced to surrender his passport and will only be able to travel overseas for business purposes after seeking the consent of the securities watchdog. A surety of $25,000 was also provided for these conditions.
McAskill was a director of TGP-McMan, Cetac, Besuto Beef, Glencailean and McMan Ostrich. Besuto Beef and Glencailean are both currently in liquidation after ASIC applied to the Supreme Court in 1999 to have them wound up, while McMan Ostrich was placed into liquidation in 1998 after losses of $6.5 million to investors and creditors.
ASIC deputy executive director Jan Redfern says the prosecution of McAskill is the result of ASIC’s crackdown on schemes purporting to offer tax advantages to investors.
“Fund raising schemes must comply with the law and ASIC will continue to maintain a close scrutiny of these schemes in the future,” she says.
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