ASIC’s enforcement actions led to over 80 bannings in 2022

Fifty-three individuals were removed or restricted from providing financial services or credit in the second half of last year, according to a summary of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) enforcement outcomes released by the regulator on Wednesday.

This brought the total number of individuals who were removed or restricted from providing financial services or credit by the ASIC in the 2022 calendar year to 84.

Outlining some of its key outcomes from the second half, the ASIC said that 173 criminal charges were laid, $76.3 million in civil penalties were imposed by the courts, and 62 investigations were commenced between July and December with another 103 investigations ongoing.

For 2022 overall, the regulator indicated that 312 criminal charges had been laid and $222.1 million in civil penalties had been imposed by the courts.

In a statement, deputy chair Sarah Court said that actions taken during the last quarter of 2022 reflected ASIC’s continued strategic priorities as well as its enforcement priorities.

“In the final three months of last year we commenced a number of significant enforcement and regulatory actions to address misconduct, market integrity threats, and consumer harms in sectors including financial services, retail, and crypto assets,” she said.

“This includes corporate governance and directors’ duties, product design and distribution, and misleading statements involving sustainable finance practices.”

The ASIC has issued a total of 22 design and distribution obligations (DDO) stop orders to date, including 14 during the previous quarter in order to prevent consumers and investors from being targeted by products inappropriate to their objectives, financial situation, and needs.

After issuing its first action for greenwashing in October, the regulator noted that it had issued infringement notices to three entities for misleading sustainability-related statements.

Action taken against former directors of Star Entertainment Group for alleged breaches of their director and officer duties involving money laundering risks was also highlighted by the ASIC as a key outcome for the quarter.

In the name of transparency, the ASIC also published a “regulatory developments timetable” for the first time alongside its latest enforcement and regulatory report.

According to the ASIC, this timetable will help the industry better anticipate when the regulator will issue a draft or final guidance, or the making of a legislative instrument.

“Our regulatory developments timetable is just one of many initiatives to streamline our interactions with the entities we regulate,” said Ms Court.

Of the 18 initiatives listed in the timetable for the first three months of this year, two apply to the financial advice sector and both relate to the registration of relevant providers.

A new information sheet is expected to provide general information about the new requirement that all relevant providers be registered with the ASIC by 1 July 2023.

Meanwhile, another information sheet is expected to provide guidance on making declarations required by s921ZA and 921ZB when registering a relevant provider.

Looking ahead, the ASIC said that it will have a strong focus on enforcement activity targeting sustainable finance practices and disclosure of climate risks, financial scams, cyber and operational resilience, and investor harms involving crypto assets throughout 2023.

“We take our role to protect consumers and investors seriously and won’t hesitate to take action to protect consumers where we identify poor conduct,” Ms Court said.

“We will also remain focused on helping industry to meet their legal obligations including by providing simple, effective, and easy-to-access guidance.”

Jon Bragg

Jon Bragg is a journalist for Momentum Media's Investor Daily, nestegg and ifa. He enjoys writing about a wide variety of financial topics and issues and exploring the many implications they have on all aspects of life.