ASIC has wound up 17 abandoned companies in the year to September, including three in SA

THE corporate regulator has wound up 17 abandoned companies in the year to September, including three in South Australia.

• Business behind Asiafest placed in liquidation
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THE corporate regulator has wound up 17 abandoned companies in the year to September, including three in South Australia.

ASIC said the exercise of its winding up powers would assist at least 32 employees access more than $570,000 in employee entitlements owed to them.

In South Australia, liquidators were appointed to Financial Wellness Pty Ltd and M&JS Pty Ltd.

A third liquidated SA company - The Perfume Parlour West Lakes Pty Ltd - was owned by Greg Evangelou, who oversaw the demise of the Asiafest event in 2016.

Together, the three SA companies employed five staff who are estimated to be owed more than $100,000.

ASIC said the appointment of liquidators would allow employees to tap into the Federal Government’s Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) scheme, which provides a safety net for staff affected by employer insolvency.

“Because ASIC appointed the liquidators, employees of these 17 companies can now apply to recover owed unpaid employee entitlements,” ASIC said.

“The appointment of liquidators also facilitates a full and proper investigation into the reasons why the companies failed and allows recovery of any voidable or unreasonable director-related transactions that can potentially be returned to creditors.”

Employees cannot access the FEG in cases where company directors are either unable to discharge their duties or abandon their insolvent companies without putting them into liquidation.

ASIC first used its winding up powers in 2013 and has since wound up 110 companies.

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