In a statement issued yesterday, John Telford, a spokesperson for the Victims of Financial Fraud (VOFF) lobby group comprised partly of former investors in collapsed fund managers Trio and Astarra, called for the former regulator to give evidence.
According to the statement, Mr Medcraft – who currently serves director of financial and enterprise affairs for the OECD in Paris – should be “recalled” from France to answer questions at the royal commission over misconduct and financial services fraud that occurred under ASIC’s watch during his tenure.
“Medcraft needs to ‘face the music’ and explain why he fostered and encouraged lawlessness right across the banking and financial services sector to the detriment of unsuspecting customers across the country,” Mr Telford said.
“Criminal and civil corporate misbehaviour flourished undetected for nearly a decade at a massive cost to ordinary Australians.”
The statement said that Mr Medcraft, as well as current ASIC deputy chair Peter Kell (who did appear as a witness during the royal commission’s second round), should both he held “just as accountable” as former AMP leaders Craig Meller and Catherine Brenner (both of whom have left the institution).
VOFF has been a longstanding critic of ASIC and Mr Medcraft in particular, accusing the corporate regulator of being too close to the financial services industry and protective of the “big end of town”.
Greg Medcraft helping to launch CPA Australia Advice was a disgrace. Supposedly to get more accountants into the industry as this would assist with Australians getting “advice you can trust”, and because they have a very good code of ethics! Lets not forget their ethics got packed away when APES230 was being tossed about. Just shows how out of touch he is with reality.
If this Royal Commission is only about getting at the “Other than Industry Funds” history and faults, plus then excluding to omit those who were in charge of supervision such as the responsible people of ASIC,
then it has been a waste of time and money.
Greg Medcraft on the stand. Wouldn’t that turn things on its head! We might see some blame being laid at someone who is actually to blame!
Also call up AIOFP ‘Certified Financial Strategists’ involved in assisting Clients lose $ in the Astarra Fraud, banned by Asic then re-instated by AAT still practicing and grinning like chesire cats in the North of SA
Absolutely correct including the fiasco of BBY where both ASIC and the ASX were derelict in their duty and knew well ahead of the collapse and did nothing to manage it on behalf of innocent investors and brokers who used their services Disgraceful and they still do appear to have learned their lesson as they continue to grab excessive funds from the Governmrnt IE: Taxpayers. And now charge the industry on top of that and impose training and learning processes without Due thought or common sense. Pure Bureaucrats
ASIC has never been proactive in regard to the heavyweights of the financial system ….the banks and the Insurance companies…. which have been getting away with anti- consumer behavior as long as I have been a financial planner 20 years. Risk based proactive audits are needed as are product scrutiny.
Bring the bast… back, if nothing more than for him to go under the blow torch of the Royal Commission and for him to be forced to admit that he was asleep at the wheel.
With the benefit of 20 / 20 hindsight, or perhaps not, what is required by the consumer is a really simple portfolio. The financial planners need to outdo the planner down the road, opens the door for the sharks.
Nobody ever gets made accountable. Claw back of executive wages to compensate innocent victims would be a fair outcome, but it won’t happen. These so called leaders are good at two things, self promotion and landing plum gigs. Neither of which benefit anybody else