A judge has sentenced the founder of defunct whitegoods distributor Kleenmaid to nine years in prison for his role in a $13 million fraud against Westpac, saying it would be “obnoxious and naive” to consider his crimes victimless.
Westpac is now facing at least eight class actions in various US courts seeking $200 million from the bank for allegedly failing to alert shareholders to violations of anti-money laundering laws.
Westpac is facing its first shareholder class action in the US following revelations that it violated anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance laws on more than 23 million occasions, in the first lawsuit to point the finger at the company’s executives.
A US-based plaintiffs firm is planning a class action against Westpac alleging it failed to alert investors to significant lapses in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism finance compliance, which led to a bombshell lawsuit by AUSTRAC last year.
A year after Commissioner Kenneth Hayne released his scathing report, companies in the financial services sector are still facing fresh class actions over conduct aired at the banking royal commission, and the pace has even picked up in recent months.
Litigation funder IMF Bentham has shrugged off concerns about the High Court’s recent ruling on common fund orders, telling investors that it’s in a position to take over some class actions from funders daunted by the prospect of bookbuilding.
A new superannuation bill working its way through the Federal Parliament should include a right of action for employees to seek damages against businesses that fail to make super payments, according to a Maurice Blackburn partner.
A Sydney solicitor who was found liable for investor losses in a sports betting scheme masterminded by convicted conman Peter Foster may seek to shift the blame onto Westpac for the bank’s alleged failure to flag funds shifted offshore from the scheme.
Common fund orders in federal class actions could live to see another day, the Federal Court has indicated in new guidance to be released Friday, which swiftly responds to a recent judgment by the High Court that appeared to spell their doom.
A class action against Westpac over allegedly excessive insurance premiums that was at the centre of a successful High Court challenge to common fund orders may back out of funding the case in the wake of the landmark ruling.