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Courts

This Month

Wayne Swan claims Cbus’s administrator is at fault for much of the misconduct alleged against the fund.

Cbus customer service provider hits back

Superannuation administration platform Link Group says it services 19 other super funds that do not face the same level of complaints as Cbus.

  • Hannah Wootton
Lawyer and hospitality entrepreneur Faddy Zouky.

When things went wrong for the cafe baron and the Chinese shoe king

The Federal Court has ordered that Faddy Zouky’s assets be frozen until he pays back nearly $9.6 million after a business deal turned sour.

  • Updated
  • Max Mason
ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court says super funds across the board have let customers down.

Systemic customer failings in super, says ASIC

The opposition has accused the Albanese government of looking after super funds rather than their members, as ASIC warns more prosecutions are afoot.

  • Hannah Wootton
Cbus chairman Wayne Swan

ASIC sues Cbus for ‘inordinate delays’ in claims worth millions

The super fund headed by former treasurer Wayne Swan has admitted that failing to process payments cost members $20 million. Past payouts suggest the figure could be closer to $1 billion.

  • Updated
  • Hannah Wootton
Former PwC partners Wayne Plummer and Richard Gregg.

PwC Australia settles with three former partners for millions

The firm has entered into settlements worth millions with two partners forced to leave amid the tax leaks scandal and another former partner.

  • Edmund Tadros
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Founder of SKAEL Baba Nadimpalli.

Australian AI start-up founder accused of faking financials in US

Baba Nadimpalli has been accused of providing fake bank statements and falsifying revenue numbers to investors by the US corporate regulator.

  • Max Mason
Escala has been hit by a spate of departures amid concerns over its pay structure.

Case closed: Escala loses bid to restrict defecting partners

Paul Sealey and Jonathan Vickers‑Willis defected to rival LGT Crestone in 2023 amid a spate of departures.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Clare Thompson has been accused of “vile language” on Twitter.

AAT lawyer accused of ‘vile language’ in tweets targeting conservatives

The new Administrative Reviews Tribunal deputy president Clare Thompson allegedly abused conservatives on Twitter, and described Liberals as “misogynistic toe rags”.

  • Hannah Wootton
Crispin Odey, the founder of OAM.

UK watchdog plans action against Crispin Odey over sexual misconduct

Hedge fund boss Crispin Odey was the subject of a series of assault claims in 2023 that plunged the firm he founded into turmoil.

  • Leonard Kehnscherper

October

Optus pushed phone and internet plans on vulnerable people despite knowing they could not afford them, the ACCC has alleged

Optus ‘exploited’ vulnerable people, ACCC alleges

The telco group sold phone plans to people who could not use them at home because there was no Optus coverage where they lived, the competition watchdog claims.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Optus has denied claims that its 2022 cyberattack was not very sophisticated

Optus disputes ACMA’s ‘not highly sophisticated’ cyberattack claim

The hacker in Optus’ 2022 data breach had “a high degree of knowledge” of the telecommunications group’s confidential systems, Optus has claimed.

  • Jenny Wiggins
Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries, his romantic partner and their employee have been arrested.

Former Abercrombie & Fitch CEO charged with sex trafficking

A US indictment alleges Mike Jeffries often recruited male models for sex with the promise of appearing in the retailer’s ads.

  • Updated
  • Jennifer Peltz
Outgoing Super Retail chairwoman Sally Pitkin has delivered a hospital pass to her replacement, Judith Swales.

Super Retail’s legal mess is an own goal

Super Retail Group’s failure to settle an ugly legal drama over whistleblower claims is creating a mess its new chairwoman will have to deal with.

  • James Thomson
In divorce filings, Michelle Bond’s ex-husband accused Salame of funnelling “illegal campaign contributions”.

The endless downfall of a crypto power couple

He was a wealthy FTX crypto executive; she was a Washington policy wonk. Now the newlyweds are both headed to prison.

  • David Yaffe-Bellany
Westpac closed RAMS to new customers in August, 33 years after it was initially founded by John Kinghorn in 1991

Former RAMS chief executive quietly departs new job at Beyond Bank

The company said Jake Bromwich’s exit decision was mutual. Westpac-owned RAMS is at the centre of a fraud investigation and faces bulling claims from former employees.

  • Lucas Baird
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Tiwi Islanders holding a banner they made to protest the Barossa gas project.

Federal Court orders EDO to release 3200 documents in financier search

Santos has been pursuing the activist legal firm, which represented Tiwi Islanders in a failed attempt to stop a $5.8 billion gas project, to find its backers.

  • Ayesha de Kretser and Elouise Fowler
ASIC wants a $27 million fine from the Federal Court against AustralianSuper.

‘No excuse’: ASIC seeks $27m fine against super giant for customer care fail

The corporate watchdog asked the Federal Court for a penalty with “real sting and burden” against AustralianSuper as a warning to the wider sector.

  • Hannah Wootton

Fortescue in court win over Element Zero

The Federal Court refused a request by former Fortescue executives to invalidate a search-and-seizure mission against them.

  • Peter Ker
Billionaire Shaun Bonett.

Business elite reaps the rewards of stolen wages cases

There’s a certain irony, and sadness, that it takes a rapacious firm looking to “maximise returns” for its wealthy backers to get governments to empty their pockets.

  • Max Mason
Shayne Elliott with Jim Chalmers earlier this year. Mr Elliott was ANZ’s chief financial officer at the time of the capital raising.

ANZ loses appeal over botched $2.5b capital raising

The bank was attempting to have a ruling thrown out that it kept the market in the dark during a big institutional shortfall almost a decade ago.

  • Updated
  • Lucas Baird

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/courts-hn7