Fed Court appoints Ostrava liquidators
The Federal Court in Melbourne has appointed Leanne Chesser and Craig Shepard as joint and several provisional liquidators to Ostrava Equities, Ostrava Wealth Management, Ostrava Asset Management, Ostrava Securities, Prometheus Capital, Beta Pharmacology, Thrive Lending, and Trade BTC.
This follows the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) investigation following the directors of various companies, financial adviser, Bradley Grimm, and director of Ostrava Equities, Vanessa Ash.
ASIC alleged Grimm and Ash were involved in multiple contraventions of the corporations legislation including unauthorised withdrawals of client funds and charging of fees by Ostrava Equities, a company that provides financial services including self-managed super fund (SMSF) establishment.
The Court ordered Chesser and Shepard to provide a report to court and to ASIC by 23 November, including an assessment of the financial position of each of the companies and any suspected contravention of the Corporations Act by the companies, Ash, or Grimm.
The Court also made orders restraining the companies and Grimm from being involved in a financial services business. Ash gave an undertaking to the Court to the same effect.
The matter is listed for a further directors hearing on 18 December.
Recommended for you
The FAAA has secured CSLR-related documents under the FOI process, after an extended four-month wait, which show little analysis was done on how the scheme’s cost would affect financial advisers.
Nearly seven in 10 HNW-focused advisers view alternatives as the asset class that will be fundamental to meeting client demands in the future, according to Praemium.
The Perth-based advice practice has welcomed a private wealth adviser and senior paraplanner to its ranks amid its strategic shift towards wealth transfer strategies.
The number of members expelled from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority almost doubled between 2023 and 2024, according to internal data.
