Sarah Court

The list targets domestic and international entities the regulator suspects of offering services to Australians without the appropriate licenses or permission. It already contains more than 1,300 names.

In an August 2 lawsuit, ASIC says the online investment platform improperly targeted unsophisticated investors for volatile and risky contract-for-difference products, which 77 per cent of its retail clients lose money on.

Four AMP Group businesses deducted insurance premiums and advice fees from superannuation customers despite knowing they had died, a judge ruled, with two of the companies – AMP Life and AMP Financial Planning – hit with $24 million in penalties.

Nearly 32,000 customers of Australia’s four major banks fell victim to scams in the 2022 financial year, bearing 96 per cent of the losses as reimbursement and compensation rates remain extremely low. ASIC is now pushing financial institutions to improve their approaches to scams and better support their customers.

One of Australia’s largest retail super funds will be hauled before the court over allegations it engaged in greenwashing of products in what will likely be a test case for the practice.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is making good on promises to combat greenwashing, issuing its second set of fines against a company for misrepresenting the ESG bona fides of an investment product.

Commonwealth Bank-owned brokerage platform CommSec and former CBA subsidiary AUSIEX have been hit with $27 million in fines for violating ASIC’s market integrity rules, in the largest-ever penalty handed down for such breaches.