ASIC to finance Allco investigations
Liquidators of the failed Allco Finance Group have asked for monetary aid from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) to continue an investigation into a series of ''potential offences'' resulting from alleged breaches of the Corporation Act.
McGrathNicol has been unable to pursue inquiries into the issues that it first identified after its initial appointment as the company's administrator due to lack of money arising from Allco's collapse in November 2008.
As such, the corporate insolvency specialist last September applied to ASIC, which has been monitoring the progress of the liquidators' investigation, for funding in order to conduct further inquiries.
In a report to creditors in March last year, McGrathNicol questioned the validity of transactions amounting to $1.1 billion. These include several related party loans made by Allco to subsidiaries or joint venture partners.
ASIC recently consented to underwrite the case, the liquidator told creditors in their first annual report, which was released at the weekend.
But the corporate regulator has yet to hand over the money as the probe is still progressing.
McGrathNicol is closely watching a related inquiry being pursued by Allco's receivers, Ferrier Hodgson, into the group's acquisition of the Rubicon real estate empire in December 2007 and a $50 million loan made to a private company linked to several senior executives.
Additionally, the liquidator has undertaken ''substantial investigations'' over the security that Allco's banking syndicate took out over some of the group's assets, including its $25 million interest in the listed company Oceania Equity Partners.