AUSTRAC has appointed an external auditor to Perth Mint, Australia’s official bullion mint, to assess its compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
A Federal Court judge has recused himself from hearing a fraud trial against Forum Finance, after expressing that he had an “unfavourable” impression of director Vince Tesoriero’s reliability as a witness.
The director of a money transfer business accused of fixing foreign exchange rates has filed a defence attacking the credibility of the federal prosecutor’s key witness, but his new lawyer says the attack might not be maintained at trial.
The judge who oversaw a discontinued criminal cartel case over a $2.5 billion ANZ share placement has bemoaned Australia’s overly complex criminal cartel laws, noting prosecutors stumbled in advancing the indictment despite the case involving a “not particularly complex” set of facts.
A judge has denied a bid by accounting firm Pitcher Partners to transfer a $127 million lawsuit brought by the Twigg family, saying he was best placed to hear “serious allegations” the firm helped race car driver Max Twigg give a false understanding of his company’s assets.
A judge has cautioned senior barrister Sue Chrysanthou over her colourful description of a 60 Minutes episode at the heart of Euro Pacific Bank boss Peter Schiff’s defamation case against Nine, urging the silk to “be careful”.
The lead auditor for Big Un’s flawed 2017 independent audit, which overstated the failed video company’s cash and cash equivalents by $8.2 million, has been convicted of failing to comply with auditing standards following an investigation by ASIC.
The NSW Independent Commission has found that pork barrelling, in which a minister directs public funds for partisan political purposes, could sometimes amount to criminal corruption and has called for better regulation of grants funding.
Chinese construction and engineering firm BCEG has won a $12 million lawsuit against two former directors of an Australian subsidiary after they allegedly swindled millions from the company to fund their own developments and buy a luxury apartment.
A judge has slashed engineering services firm CIMIC Group’s ten insurance claims in half, finding that the company failed to notify five insurers of a handwritten document dubbed the “Iraq file note” in relation to its claims for coverage of costs arising from allegations it engaged in corrupt practices, including bribing Iraqi officials.