Asic
AFCA Proposes AUD 1.26 Million Scam Cap as Rules Consultation Opens
- The direct-loss ceiling would double and apply once per scam, even when several regulated entities share liability.
- Banks, telcos and digital platforms enter the new complaints jurisdiction on March 31, 2027.
Monday, 31/08/2026 | 07:20 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Who Can Shut Down a Broker During an AI Attack? ASIC Wants an Answer Now
- Boards must assign escalation and shutdown authority, set recovery priorities and approve crisis communications in advance.
- Retail trading is exposed as agents gain access to client accounts, execution and internal risk systems.
Thursday, 27/08/2026 | 07:35 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Court Appoints Provisional Liquidators to 12 Companies After A$182 Million Raise
- The court said payments mainly came from new investors or borrowings on unknown terms.
- FTI Consulting has 10 weeks to assess solvency, assets, creditor returns and suspected legal breaches.
Monday, 24/08/2026 | 05:52 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Removes Over 19,400 Scams as AI Deepfakes Target Investors
- Online takedowns rose 182% in FY26 as fake sites, reviews and endorsements reinforced one another.
- Scamwatch reports linked impersonated public figures to A$7.4 million in reported losses.
Monday, 17/08/2026 | 06:08 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Flags Onboarding and Disclosure Gaps in Nine-Broker Review
- Five firms changed compliance practices, while two halted options onboarding during remediation.
- One provider left Australia after the review, and the regulator is considering further action.
Thursday, 13/08/2026 | 06:15 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Says Yepbit Falsely Blamed Regulator for Frozen Investor Funds
- Investors told ASIC they could not withdraw money from the purported crypto and futures platform.
- Philippine regulators ordered Yepbit and its linked investment group to halt solicitation in February.
Wednesday, 12/08/2026 | 06:40 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Wants the CFD Capital Floor Frozen Until 2032
- The net tangible assets test for retail derivative issuers would run five years past its 2027 expiry.
- Brokers have had to hold the greater of AU$1 million or 10% of average revenue since January 2014.
Tuesday, 11/08/2026 | 05:48 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Removed 87 Firms and Individuals From Financial Services Last Year, Up From 58
- The regulator logged 150 administrative enforcement outcomes in the 2025-26 financial year, against 105 a year earlier.
- Credit was the exception, where removals and restrictions fell to 27 from 33.
Monday, 10/08/2026 | 05:34 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Reaches Auditors and a New Offshore Vehicle in A$1.1 Billion Super Collapse
- Two Federal Court filings in four days extend a case that now covers fund operators, platform trustees, advisers and auditors.
- About 11,000 Australians put retirement savings into the Shield and First Guardian funds before both stopped paying out.
Monday, 03/08/2026 | 06:57 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Moves to Cut Sell-Side Research Guide From 42 Pages to Eight
- The regulator wants research analysts closer to IPO preparation while keeping conflict controls in place.
- Rules separating analyst pay from corporate advisory revenue stay in the draft guide.
Thursday, 23/07/2026 | 07:48 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Cheques and Balances: Former Forex.com and Invast Director Sentenced Over Suspected Scam Proceeds
- Brendan Gunn, a former director at GAIN Capital's Forex.com and ex-CEO of Invast Financial Services, has received a suspended 12-month sentence over AU$181,000 in suspected crypto scam proceeds. The sentencing is related to activities in his crypto firm, not the CFD brokers.
- He kept moving funds through Mormarkets bank accounts despite repeated fraud warnings from banks, months after ASIC first charged him in 2025 over the same conduct.
Thursday, 23/07/2026 | 05:24 GMT by
Arnab Shome
Contracts for a Third of the Bill: CFDs Drive ASIC's Record AU$830 Million Fine Haul
- ASIC secured a record AU$830 million (US$579.3 million) in civil penalties in the 2025-26 financial year, with AU$644 million (US$449.5 million) returned to Australians.
- A single AU$300.2 million (US$209.5 million) penalty against collapsed CFD broker Union Standard, EuropeFX and TradeFred made up roughly 36% of that entire annual total.
Monday, 20/07/2026 | 05:33 GMT by
Arnab Shome
ASIC Asks Court to Wind Up Capital Guard After A$17.4 Million Raised on Bonds That May Not Exist
- The regulator says investor money was spent in ways that do not match what clients were told, and that only a small slice remains in known accounts.
- A directions hearing in the Supreme Court of New South Wales is listed for July 20.
Tuesday, 14/07/2026 | 08:20 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Sets Retail CFD Levy 23% Lower for 2025-26 as Total Industry Bill Climbs to A$400 Million
- The estimated levy on retail OTC derivative issuers falls to A$128,388 per firm, down from A$166,679 a year earlier.
- The reprieve for CFD brokers runs against an 18.6% rise in ASIC's total recoverable costs, which is driven by the financial advice and insurance sectors.
Monday, 13/07/2026 | 07:18 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Trive Lost Australia License after Ceasing Onboarding New CFD Traders a Year Ago
- The regulator highlighted that the broker's AFS license was cancelled because it had stopped providing services.
- The broker was one of the 52 CFD brokers ASIC assessed between October 2024 and December 2025 and had “serious deficiencies” in some of its processes.
Thursday, 09/07/2026 | 05:55 GMT by
Arnab Shome
$1.5 Million Raised for Forex Trading, Spent on Everything Else
- Trent Bowden admitted three charges of dishonestly using his position as a company director, each carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
- ASIC says investors were told their money would go into FX trading, but the funds were spent on personal costs and payments to other investors.
Monday, 29/06/2026 | 06:28 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Hits Renew on Four Aging Market Rules
- The corporate regulator says the instruments work as intended and will carry over unchanged when remade.
- The proposal forms part of ASIC's wider effort to thin out aging rules before they lapse under a 10-year sunset clock.
Monday, 22/06/2026 | 06:15 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Investment Scams Are Australia's Largest Loss Category. ASIC's Whitelist Hinges on Three Conditions
- New FM Intelligence analysis weighs the register against ASIC's two-year takedown record and the 2026 loss trajectory.
- Whether it lowers losses will turn on broker participation, ad-platform verification, and the treatment of authorized representatives.
Friday, 19/06/2026 | 10:19 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
HSBC Australia Caught Napping on Scams — and It's Going to Cost AU$35 Million
- HSBC Australia has admitted to letting scammers drain customers' accounts for years, and now faces a AU$35M penalty in one of the first global bank scam-liability cases of its kind.
- ASIC is seeking AU$35M from HSBC Australia after the bank admitted to inadequate scam controls, 144-day avg case resolution times, and awareness of impersonation fraud risks as far back as 2021.
Thursday, 18/06/2026 | 05:21 GMT by
Arnab Shome
ASIC to Publish Licensee Website Addresses in New Front Against Imposter Scams
- The regulator wants consumers to check genuine financial sites against an official list before they invest.
- Australia's watchdog says it may force licensees to comply if too few hand over their web addresses.
Wednesday, 17/06/2026 | 07:38 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASX Admits Misleading the Market on Its Blockchain CHESS Project, Agrees to A$20.5 Million Penalty
- The exchange operator told investors its CHESS settlement overhaul was progressing well, even as internal teams had flagged the work as red.
- The deal closes a case ASIC opened in 2024, though the regulator dropped two of its three original allegations to get there.
Monday, 15/06/2026 | 06:02 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
A 'Record Penalty': USGFX, EuropeFX and TradeFred to Pay AU$300M for ‘Egregious’ CFD Offerings
- It was the “record penalty” secured by ASIC in a regulatory matter.
- Union Standard’s Australian entity was slapped with the highest penalty of AU$156.7 million, while EuropeFX and TradeFred have to pay AU$114.1 million and AU$29.4 million, respectively.
Friday, 12/06/2026 | 05:35 GMT by
Arnab Shome
ASIC Hands Euroclear a May 2027 Deadline to Get Australian
- The Brussels-based settlement provider has a year to file for a clearing and settlement facility license.
- The move follows ASIC's June 2025 licensing of rival Clearstream, bringing both global ICSDs under domestic oversight for the first time.
Wednesday, 27/05/2026 | 05:18 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
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