In the second quarter of 2023, ASIC continued to use its enforcement and regulatory tools to protect consumers and investors from financial harm and uphold the integrity of Australia’s financial markets.
In its latest enforcement and regulatory update, ASIC details key enforcement and regulatory action taken between April and June 2023, enforcement outcomes from January to June 2023, and actions taken to protect consumers and investors and strengthen market integrity.
Acting against misconduct
Between April and June 2023, ASIC acted against misconduct across the financial system, including breaches by directors and self-managed superannuation fund (SMSF) auditors of their duties and obligations. Key actions include:
- Sentencing a former financial adviser to six years imprisonment for committing fraud. The individual was the director and financial adviser of a financial planning business. Between 2015 and 2018 he withdrew funds without authorisation from his clients’ SMSF accounts, using them for property development purposes, to pay personal debts and expenses, and for business expenses.
- Permanent injunctions made by the Federal Court against a social media “finfluencer” from carrying on a financial services business in Australia, due to this individual having practised without an AFS licence.
Summary of enforcement outcomes
ASIC provides a summary of enforcement outcomes from 1 January to 30 June 2023.
| Prosecutions |
| 18 individuals charged by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) in criminal prosecutions |
| 125 criminal charges laid against individuals prosecuted |
| 14 custodial sentences (three people imprisoned) |
| 6 non-custodial sentences |
| 124 individuals charged with strict liability offences in summary prosecutions |
| 333 criminal charges laid against individuals prosecuted for strict liability offences |
| Civil penalties |
| $109.1m in civil penalties imposed by the courts |
| 7 civil penalty cases commenced |
| Bannings |
| 46 individuals removed or restricted from providing financial services or credit |
| 19 individuals disqualified or removed from directing companies |
| Infringement notices and court enforceable undertakings |
| 7 infringement notices issued |
| $5.8m in infringement notice penalties paid |
| 2 court enforceable undertakings accepted |
| Investigations |
| 70 investigations commenced |
| 144 investigations ongoing |
Protecting consumers and investors
During the reporting period, ASIC took action against potential misconduct and non-compliant activities relating to concerns about predatory lending, high-cost credit, greenwashing, unfair contract terms, and insurance pricing failures. Key actions include:
- Insurance Australia Limited (IAL), one of Australia’s largest general insurers, was penalised $40 million by the Federal Court in June 2023 – the largest ever penalty against an insurer for breaches of consumer protection laws.
- ASIC commenced civil penalty proceedings against car finance provider Money3 Loans Pty Ltd., alleging that Money3 failed to properly assess whether borrowers, including First Nations peoples, could meet their repayment obligations before entering into loan contracts for the purchase of second-hand vehicles.
- ASIC issued its first interim stop orders against superannuation and insurance products, due to deficiencies in their target market determinations (TMDs) under the design and distribution obligations.
Strengthening market integrity
ASIC continued to combat misconduct damaging the integrity of the Australian financial markets, including insider trading and market manipulation. Key outcomes include:
- A finfluencer was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment for manipulating shares listed on the ASX and illegally disseminating information relating to the manipulation.
- ASIC cancelled the AFS licence of the entity trading as Binance Australia Derivatives.
Key takeaways
Throughout the second quarter of 2023, ASIC’s enforcement and regulatory efforts have yielded significant penalties, prosecutions, and bannings, sending a clear message that misconduct will not go unpunished.
