The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) should be capable of dealing with illegal early release superannuation issues, particularly where self-managed superannuation funds are concerned, according to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA).
In a submission lodged with the Senate Committee of inquiry reviewing ASIC's performance, ASFA has not only argued for a role for the regulator with respect to inappropriate use of SMSFs, but also argued for better resourcing of the body to implement legal action and to monitor and crackdown on scams.
The submission argued that ASIC "should be armed with the power and resources to be in a position to better monitor internet and telemarketing scams and to work with international regulators and law enforcement bodies to catch and shut down such scams and, if possible, to recover money obtained by misrepresentation, fraud or identity theft".
It said this included "dealing with situations where members transfer their superannuation from Registrable Superannuation Entities (RSEs) to real or fake self-managed super fund (SMSF) accounts and then find it has been invested inappropriately, accessed illegally or transferred off-shore".
Originally published by SMSF Essentials.
