VOFF demands accountability from regulators
With the Banking Royal Commission revealing the extent to which the big banks and AMP charged fees for no service, Victims of Financial Fraud (VOFF) is again asking who watches the watchdog that is supposed to stop such misconduct occurring.
Amid cries from the industry and public for regulators to also be put under the Commission’s scrutiny, VOFF asked “who holds APRA [Australian Prudential Regulation Authority] and ASIC [Australian Securities and Investments Commission] accountable for their clear failures”.
The advocacy group said that Trio Capital creditors were similarly charged fees for no service, including by ANZ and National Australia Bank custodians, and KPMG and WHK auditors.
They were also charged by Trio’s directors and employees for fees for no assets, under the eye of ASIC and ARPA.
VOFF demanded an explanation as to why regulators allowed this to happen and if they still were.
“Did the regulators imagine the money was verifiable or did they know it was long gone? It was discovered that audit failures were detected by APRA and ASIC over multiple audit cycles, but no action was taken until the assets had disappeared. Why?
“Where else has this been or is currently occurring?” the group asked.
AUTHOR
Hannah Wootton
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