High-flying trading boss hit with 16 charges

The once high-flying boss of finance house Berndale Capital Securities has been charged with 16 offences for misusing as much as $1 million in customer funds while operating the trading house.

Berndale was at the centre of an investigation by this masthead in 2020. Before its 2018 collapse, the group was the fourth-largest trader of high-risk financial products called contracts for difference, and was led by Stavro D’Amore, whose social media pages are littered with photos of him with colourful characters including Mick Gatto.

Its collapse left its clients short more than $5 million.

Stavro D’Amore with fiancée Natalie Turnour in DubaiCredit: Instagram

D’Amore has been charged with five offences of dishonestly using his position as a director and five counts of dishonest conduct in the course of operating a financial services business, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission said in a statement on Friday.

The musclebound business boss has also been charged with four counts of making a false or misleading statement in a document issued to ASIC, one count of misleading Berndale’s auditor and one offence of making a false statement to an ASIC investigation.

Former Berndale director Daniel Kirby has also been charged with five offences over his dealings at the trading house. This includes two counts of dishonest conduct while operating a financial services business and one count of dishonestly using his position as a director and one count of misleading an auditor. Kirby has also been charged with using fabricated evidence.

The charges were laid two years after a lengthy public examination in the Federal Court by Berndale’s liquidators at Cor Cordis. Those examinations revealed an extraordinary tale of missing money from Swiss bank accounts and Berndale’s impressive collection of high-end cars, including McLarens and Porsches and unusual property investments.

ASIC alleges that D’Amore and Kirby each transferred Berndale company funds for their own benefit including, in the case of D’Amore, property purchases.

“Mr D’Amore and Mr Kirby are also alleged to have made a false statement or submitted false or misleading documents to ASIC and an auditor of Berndale about overseas bank accounts containing Berndale funds. Mr Kirby is also alleged to have fabricated evidence related to Berndale funds in overseas bank accounts in Federal Court proceedings.”

Part of ASIC’s case relies on the requirement for trading houses to keep a required amount of money aside to ensure its financial stability and to lodge audited financial reports. ASIC alleges, as the examinations heard in 2020, that Berndale failed to do this.

“ASIC alleges the relevant overseas funds and accounts either did not exist or were grossly inaccurate.”

Both men briefly appeared at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday. Mr D’Amore and Mr Kirby are next due to appear before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on 25 August 2023.

Separately, D’Amore, alongside his fiancee Natalie Turnour, is facing money laundering charges following a separate investigation by the Australian Federal Police.

Both matters remain before the courts and no pleas have been entered by the defendants.

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