Greater than 5,000 Aussies who reinvested a whole bunch of tens of millions of their superannuation into First Guardian Grasp Fund may battle to get their nest eggs again after the corporate’s collapse.
Aussies like Juan Carlos Sanchez had been satisfied by monetary advisory firm Enterprise Egg to maneuver their tremendous financial savings from ANZ right into a fund known as AusPrac.
After shifting all his tremendous, Mr Sanchez was informed that withdrawals from his fund had been frozen since Could 2024.
‘After I obtained that e mail (from AusPrac advising the superannuation cash had been frozen), my abdomen dropped — I simply had this sick feeling,’ he mentioned.
Mr Sanchez later found his tremendous was not being reinvested to develop his retirement financial savings however was being despatched into ‘a money hub’ managed by the administrators of First Guardian Grasp Fund.
Mr Sanchez was one among 6,000 Aussies who invested $590million with First Guardian earlier than it collapsed this 12 months.
The Australian Securities and Investments Fee is investigating the corporate.
Buyers had been informed to place their tremendous right into a retail selection superannuation fund after which make investments half or all of it into First Guardian.
Falcon Capital Restricted was answerable for the failed First Guardian fund.
Its former managing director was David Anderson and ASIC is investigating him after alleging he poured tens of millions of traders’ retirement financial savings into his personal failed property developments, craft breweries and to assist celeb chef Scott Pickett, of which he was a shareholder.
The Federal Courtroom has appointed liquidators to Falcon Capital and Mr Anderson’s property have been frozen and passports seized as investigators comb by means of monetary data.
Mr Anderson and one other director Simon Selimaj are banned from leaving Australia till 27 February 2026.
‘ASIC sought the orders to make sure Mr Anderson and Mr Selimaj stay in Australia to help ASIC with its investigation and to protect property whereas ASIC’s investigation is constant,’ the regulator mentioned.
Public court docket paperwork obtained by ABC Information revealed Mr Anderson moved $274 million into offshore firms tied to him after he was warned about ASIC’s investigation.
ASIC investigators have warned the cash can be exhausting to search out.
The regulator additionally alleged $5.6 million was put into Mr Anderson’s private ANZ account ‘with none professional foundation for funds in that quantity being obvious to ASIC or disclosed to traders’.
He allegedly used $16,000 to make a mortgage cost on his multi-million-dollar house.
‘Falcon seems to proceed to redeploy the restricted funds it has acquired to illiquid investments, regardless of representations made to traders that it could fulfil redemption requests and reopen the First Guardian Grasp Fund for funding as soon as the money receivables are acquired,’ ASIC informed the court docket.
ASIC additionally alleged Falcon might have deceived stakeholders concerning the safety of their funding and doable returns.
Legal professionals for Mr Anderson mentioned ‘there have been no findings of truth or regulation by any court docket or tribunal, nor by ASIC’.
‘Mr Anderson will absolutely train his rights in response to allegations which can be made towards him on the acceptable time within the acceptable discussion board,’ Dan Mackay of Mackay Chapman attorneys mentioned.
ASIC discovered that within the ‘best-case situation’ $81 million of investor funds had been unaccounted for however accepted the cash loaned to abroad companies might by no means be recovered.
One investor stands to lose $677,000.
ASIC can be investigating Melbourne-based monetary adviser Ferras Merhi who ran Enterprise Egg Monetary Companies and led 1000’s of purchasers into the First Guardian Fund.
The Federal Courtroom has made interim orders freezing some property of Mr Mehri who’s linked to a minimum of 2,440 purchasers who invested $179 million in First Guardian funds.
Whereas telling purchasers to spend money on First Guardian, Mr Merhi was additionally being paid to market the fund.
In court docket paperwork it was alleged Mr Mehri acquired greater than $19 million in funds from First Guardian for advertising and marketing providers.
Small enterprise proprietor Greg McElherron may lose 1000’s of {dollars} and pleaded with the federal government to step in and defend superannuation traders.
‘Everyone seems to be operating for the hills making an attempt to cowl their backsides. It is completely shameful,’ he mentioned.
‘If you are going to be not solely inspired however mandated to place cash into your tremendous, it needs to be protected.’
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