Jan Cameron convicted, fined and banned from directing a company for five years

Jan Cameron has been convicted for misleading the stock market, fined thousands of dollars and banned from directing or managing a company for a lengthy period.

Jan Cameron at Hobart Magistrates Court on Thursday. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Multimillionaire Tasmanian Jan Cameron has been convicted for misleading the market over her interest in baby food giant Bellamy’s, and fined thousands of dollars.

But her penalty for breaching the Commonwealth Corporations Act has far more dire consequences for the renowned businesswoman and philanthropist - as it means she is automatically disqualified from managing or directing a company for five years.

Cameron, 71, has already filed an appeal against her guilty findings in the Supreme Court of Tasmania.

She had previously pleaded not guilty in the Hobart Magistrates Court to making a false or misleading statement, and failing to give information about substantial holdings, after charges were brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

But on Thursday, Magistrate Michael Daly convicted her on both counts and fined her $3000 and $5000.

It came after he found her guilty last year of failing to disclose the fact she controlled 14 million shares in Bellamy’s through the Black Prince Private Foundation - an offshore entity based on the Caribbean island of Curacao.

“I take into account that the consequences of the conviction are very serious,” he said, referring to the disqualification period and the effects on Cameron’s philanthropic work.

However, he said he could not accept a submission by her lawyer - Sydney commercial law specialist Peter Bruckner - that she should avoid conviction entirely.

He also rejected claims that Cameron had simply relied on advice from her lawyers, which they in turn received from a man involved in the establishment of Black Prince - information Mr Bruckner said they believed was correct.

Mr Daly said there was no evidence for that.

“There is no flesh on any of these bones,” he told Mr Bruckner earlier in the proceedings.

The magistrate did however accept that Cameron had never done anything similar before in disguising her shareholder interests - and noted there was “no identifiable victim” in the case.

Mr Daly described Cameron as an “experienced and sophisticated investor and director” and a “person of the highest character”.

“Her references speak highly of her, and I have given her references very significant weight,” he said.

“Until these two incidents, the defendant has led not only a blameless life, but one where her remarkable philanthropic nature was prodigious, widespread and has led to the wellbeing of multiple sectors of the Australian community.”

Crown prosecutor Angus Macauley argued earlier in the proceedings that Cameron must have known she needed to disclose her shareholder interest.

“This was all done premeditatively, concertedly, to get something that was proscribed by law, erecting a very large complex array of transactions for subterfuge,” he said.

Cameron is one of Tasmania’s wealthiest residents and formerly one of Australia’s richest women.

She is a former director of Bellamy’s, the founder of adventure wear brand Kathmandu and at one time, bought the retail chain that encompassed Tasmania’s popular - but now defunct - discount chain store, Chickenfeed.

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