ASIC touts investigation increases in annual report

In the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s (ASIC) FY24–25 annual report, it detailed that it had commenced 252 formal investigations during the year, alongside 829 surveillances.

Outgoing ASIC chair Joe Longo said investments in the agency’s “operational capabilities”, specifically pointing to digital technologies, cyber resilience and data analytics, had paid dividends.

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“The ongoing operational uplift at ASIC has helped to deliver a 50 per cent increase in investigations, an almost 20 per cent increase in new civil enforcement proceedings and the completion of 829 targeted surveillances,” Longo said.

During FY24–25, 24 individuals were prosecuted on criminal charges by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions following ASIC referral, with 19 criminal convictions, 14 custodial sentences, six people imprisoned, and five non-custodial sentences.

ASIC also prosecuted 235 individuals for strict liability offences, resulting in $1.6 million in fines, while it commenced 38 civil proceedings, involving actions against 195 defendants and $104.1 million in civil penalties imposed by the courts. It also secured $16.8 million in court-imposed criminal fines.

The chair said that alongside this ramped up enforcement activity, it had “commenced a significant program of regulatory work”.

“We are shining a light on Australia’s capital markets through our public and private markets work, building stronger retirement outcomes with our superannuation members services work, and fostering efficiency as part of our regulatory simplification work,” Longo said.

The regulator highlighted a range of “significant outcomes” from its work, including:

• Publishing ASIC’s first discussion paper into the dynamics of Australia’s public and private markets.
• Launching the Regulatory Simplification Consultative Group.
• Commencing an inquiry into the ASX’s governance, capability and risk management following serious and repeated failures.
• Uncovering death benefit failures in the superannuation sector and launching enforcement actions against Cbus and Australian Super.
• Reviewing the use of artificial intelligence by financial services and credit licensees.
• Taking down over 6,900 investment scam and phishing websites.

“ASIC’s ongoing work demonstrates that ASIC responds to emerging challenges in the broader financial ecosystem, from the advent of AI to the increasing dominance of private credit in our capital markets,” Longo added.

“We are taking impactful enforcement action and a leading approach to solving regulatory problems to protect consumers and support the integrity of our markets.”

The report also noted the action that ASIC has taken over the last 18 months in relation to the “unscrupulous business models” that have jumped into the spotlight in the wake of the Shield and First Guardian scandals.

“ASIC has become increasingly concerned with what appears to be a significant increase in unscrupulous business models, on an industrial scale, that deprive people of their superannuation savings,” it said.

“This is commonly done through high-pressure selling and promises of better returns in exchange for the investment of superannuation savings into complex and risky schemes.

“ASIC’s priority is to investigate what has happened, which has revealed a complex structure and suspected misconduct by lead generators, financial advisers and others. To raise awareness and protect consumers, we launched a warning campaign educating investors about taking unwise risks with their retirement savings.”