Regulators

A class action against BPS Financial may abandon some claims after a judge found in a separate case brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission that the Qoin cryptocurrency issuer made false and misleading claims about its product.

Challenging a ruling that it breached its continuous disclosure obligations, ANZ has argued on appeal that it did not need to inform the ASX of a bailout by the underwriters of a 2015 institutional share placement because the information didn’t go to the fundamental value of its shares.

Global Payments’ plan to acquire Sydney software company School Bytes Learning may substantially lessen competition, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has said in outlining preliminary concerns with the deal.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has brought proceedings against Optus over a September 2022 data breach that comprised the data of up to 10 million customers, the first lawsuit filed by a regulator following a string of major cyberattacks over the past two years.

A New South Wales developer’s competition case against NSW Ports over a ports privatisation agreement looks bound for the High Court after a judge found a related ACCC proceeding did not bar it from bringing the case, which will challenge a Full Court finding that the ports operator was shielded by derivative Crown immunity.

Consumers are “generally unaware” of the extent to which data firms and third parties mine and utilise their data, according to a report by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. 

Former BitConnect national promoter John Louis Bigatton has pleaded guilty over his role in marketing the online cryptocurrency platform, a global Ponzi scheme that reached a market capitalisation of $5 billion before its collapse.

SkyCity has agreed to pay $67 million to resolve AUSTRAC proceedings alleging it allowed $4 billion in suspicious transactions and failed to carry out diligence on high-risk customers.

Pizza Hut has paid $2.5 million in penalties for breaching spam laws when it sent more than 10 million unsolicited marketing messages to customers. 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has expressed concerns that France-based Louis Dreyfus’ proposed acquisition of ASX-traded cotton gin operator Namoi Cotton could substantially lessen competition and lead to higher prices for ginning services.