ASIC raises over $138m in penalties from royal commission matters

This reporting period marked the filing of ASIC’s last civil proceeding stemming from the financial services royal commission, the corporate regulator said in its latest annual report.

“All of ASIC’s Royal Commission investigations are now complete, with seven proceedings still before the courts,” the regulator confirmed.

In total, ASIC brought 24 civil and criminal cases based on matters raised at the financial services royal commission, with one additional criminal matter currently under consideration by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP).

Ultimately, as at 30 June 2022, penalties and fines imposed in proceedings brought by the regulator arising out of the financial services royal commission amounted to more than $138 million.

Overall in 2021–22, ASIC reported raising over $2 million in criminal penalties — a substantial leap from the $151,000 raised a year earlier.

Namely, according to ASIC, the increase in fines arising from criminal actions is attributed to a fine of $1.71 million imposed on Avanteos Investments.

The former subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank was convicted and penalised for failing to update defective disclosure statements, resulting in deceased consumers being charged fees after their death when Avanteos had no lawful authority to do so.

Regarding civil action, the corporate regulator revealed that 61 in total were completed compared to 46 a year earlier, while the total dollar value of civil penalties grew to $229.9 million from $189.4 million.