Eight months on – still no Government response to Parliamentary Committee report on Trio scandal

In May 2012 a parliamentary committee issued a report about the collapse of funds manager Trio – in which over 6000 Australian superannuation and other investors were defrauded of $176 million.

Disturbingly, eight months later, there has still been no response from the government.

Sadly, the government and its agencies have done a poor job at every stage of the Trio scandal since it first came to light.

In 2011 I began receiving approaches from constituents who lost money in the collapse of Trio.  As a member of the Parliament's Corporations and Financial Services Committee, I urged my fellow committee members that we should investigate the Trio collapse – and they agreed with me.

In our investigation, we found that the fraud began in late 2003 when an existing funds manager was taken over by those involved in the fraud – but it took almost six years before the regulators APRA and ASIC intervened.

Most of the major perpetrators seem to have got away with it.  One local foot soldier (Mr Shawn Richard) was convicted and jailed – but the international masterminds (particularly a Mr Jack Flader) have not been pursued.

The Committee made multiple recommendations in its report.  They were unanimous – the Labor, Liberal and minor party members all supported them.

We called on ASIC, APRA and the AFP to urgently reopen an investigation into the likely criminal activity in this matter.

We also called for ASIC to fund the liquidator of Trio to continue its factual investigation into where the money went.

We recommended that the government should consider whether another group of Trio investors – who were originally in an (APRA regulated) pooled superannuation trust before being induced to move into the “ARP Growth Fund” – are also entitled to compensation under the existing law.

When a parliamentary committee concludes that $176 million of superannuation and other investments has been stolen, you would hope the relevant Minister would jump to respond.

Bill Shorten, Minister for Superannuation and Financial Services , should have directed his agencies to reopen a criminal investigation, to leave no stone unturned in finding where the money went, and to fully investigate all options for compensation under the existing law, for example for ARP Growth Fund members.

But to date we have heard nothing. 

Come on Bill – let’s see some action!