Australian Securities & Investments Commission updates Senate on Shield and First Guardian litigation, ASX reform commitments and recent criminal sentences

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission provided an enforcement and supervision update in an opening statement to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee’s Additional Budget Estimates, reporting further progress on the Shield and First Guardian Master Fund failures, commitments obtained from the ASX Group to strengthen clearing and settlement governance and financial resilience, and recent custodial sentences following ASIC investigations. On Shield and First Guardian, ASIC reported recovering more than AUD 420 million for investors and, since its last appearance in October 2025, commencing further court actions against SQM (the research house responsible for Shield’s ratings), financial advice firms Interprac Financial Planning and MWL, lead generator Imperial Capital Group, and Diversa Trustees Limited in relation to alleged failures concerning First Guardian. ASIC noted that around AUD 300 million was invested into First Guardian through superannuation funds for which Diversa was trustee, and it has started a consumer communications campaign including sending further information to affected investors and directing them to a dedicated consumer website. Separately, ASIC said it obtained multiple commitments from the ASX Group in December covering greater independence and governance for ASX’s Clearing and Settlement Facilities Boards, a strategic reset of ASX’s ‘Accelerate’ transformation program with milestones and delivery accountability, and an additional capital charge to support robust financial resources until remediation is complete. ASIC also highlighted recent sentences, including 14 years’ imprisonment (12 years non-parole) for Chris Marco for fraud relating to more than AUD 34 million misappropriated from investors, with ASIC noting an appeal is underway, four years and ten months (more than three years non-parole) for Krishnakumar Agrawal for dishonest use of his position as a director, six years (four years non-parole) for Anthony Torre for stealing and fraud involving clients’ superannuation funds, and six years (three years non-parole) for Rodney Forrest for insider trading in Platinum Asset Management. The Forrest outcome was described as the first result for ASIC’s specialist insider trading team, which investigated and finalised the case within 16 months of the offending.