Cindy Cameronne

Logistics company Brambles has lost its bid to pause costs orders while it prepares an appeal of the first post-trial win for a shareholder class action, while also flagging a bid to stay determination of group member claims.

Under pressure from parliamentary committee members, KPMG said late Friday it would waive privilege and hand over investigation reports from Allens and Ashurst, after initially resisting orders for documents.

Facing the hotseat over KPMG's treatment of a whisteblower, the accounting giant's former CEO Andrew Yates told a parliamentary committee hearing on Friday he took accountability and was not a "bad apple".

A senator has criticised KPMG for claiming a commitment to transparency while also maintaining legal professional privilege over advice from Allens and Ashurst into the alleged misuse of confidential information.

ASIC’s chair says the corporate cop is investigating individuals at KPMG for alleged misuse of confidential information belonging to Lendlease and Optus to win new work, but says it is hamstrung by current law from undertaking a broader probe. 

Baggage handling company Alstef Australia says the operator of Brisbane Airport is not entitled to call on $13.4 million in bank guarantees, claiming it is owed $32 million in a dispute over a baggage system upgrade at the airport’s domestic terminal.

Lendlease chair John Gillam has said the company's board was “deeply discontented” with KPMG’s alleged misuse of its confidential information but was stuck with the accounting firm until the end of the financial year. 

A judge has approved a $35 million penalty against HSBC in ASIC’s novel case over the bank's scam protection failures, despite questioning whether the punishment was severe enough given how long the case took to settle.

HSBC has agreed to pay a $35 million penalty in ASIC proceedings after it admitted to serious failures in protecting customers from scams, but a judge is questioning whether the penalty is high enough. 

A judge has ordered the former CEO and chief legal officer of Star to pay a combined $1.1 million in penalties for failing to act on "obvious" money laundering risks, but said the fines would have been higher had ASIC not struck a "generous" settlement with other directors.