Jan Cameron charged by ASIC over Bellamy’s stake

The multi-millionaire faces up to 5 years’ jail after ASIC charged her over issues related to the boardroom battle for Bellamy’s.

Jan Cameron has been charged over failing to disclose a stake in Bellamy’s. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones.

Jan Cameron, the reclusive multi-millionaire businesswoman and founder of outdoor adventure wear retailer Kathmandu, could face up to 5 years in jail after the corporate regulator brought criminal charges against her over her involvement in the boardroom battle for infant milk formula group Bellamy’s three years ago.

The criminal charges revolve around the alleged nondisclosure of investments in Bellamy’s, which ASIC claims was hidden from public view via a mysterious shelf company called Black Prince domiciles in the Caribbean island of Curaçao.

Bellamy’s was later acquired by Chinese dairy group Mengnui in a 2019 that generated a return of as much as $300 million for Ms Cameron, who sold her stake in to the takeover.

Ms Cameron, 67, of Hobart, a former director of Bellamy’s will appear before the Hobart Magistrates’ Court on criminal charges following an investigation by ASIC, the regulator said in a statement announcing the charges.

ASIC alleges that on or about 1 August 2014, when Bellamy’s became a listed company, Ms Cameron began – by herself and along with her associate The Black Prince Foundation, an entity domiciled in Curaçao – to have a substantial holding in a listed company through a holding of 14 million Bellamy’s shares.

That holding represented 14.74 per cent of Bellamy’s total issued capital and it is alleged that on or about 5 August 2014 Ms Cameron failed to disclose that interest as required.

ASIC also alleges that on or about 15 February 2017, Ms Cameron lodged with Bellamy’s an initial substantial holder notice that was misleading on the basis that it failed to properly disclose her true and complete relationship with Black Prince and the basis upon which she had an interest in 14 million Bellamy’s shares.

Ms Cameron has been charged with contravening sections 671B (1) and 1308(2) of the Corporations Act, with the charges listed for a mention hearing before the Hobart Magistrates’ Court on March 12.

The maximum penalty for contravening this section is five years’ imprisonment or 200 penalty units or both, ASIC said.

During a shareholder revolt at Bellamy’s in 2017 that saw its then CEO Laura McBain ejected and a fight among major shareholders, Black Prince used its large voting block to attempt to kick out most Bellamy’s directors and appoint new directors allied with Ms Cameron.

For months the true identity of Black Prince and the investors behind it remained a mystery.

At the time Black Prince owned 14.48 per cent of Bellamys shares and Ms Cameron has 2 per cent of Bellamy’s capital in her own name. It was later revealed Ms Cameron was behind Black Prince. It was revealed the ultimate beneficiary of the Black Prince was an entity called the Elsie Cameron Foundation, set up as an environmental charity by Ms Cameron and named after her mother. She was a trustee of the Black Prince.