Burnt Trio Capital investors are in ‘‘no-man’s land’’ despite the federal government’s plans to give financial regulators sweeping new powers to step in and take control of superannuation funds in the event of a crisis.
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Under the plan, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority would be given far-reaching powers to move in and appoint a manager to an institution that it suspected was on the verge of collapse.
A lobby group representing Wollongong investors who were denied access to a $55million compensation package after the Trio Capital collapse said the reforms were welcome but more needed to be done.
The group called on Illawarra MPs Sharon Bird and Stephen Jones to continue the fight.
‘‘A lot of super reform has come about out of the Trio Capital fraud,’’ Victims of Fraud secretary John Telford said.
‘‘However there are 690 anxious, distressed and traumatised investors who have been overlooked by the system.
‘‘They are a group of people who are in no-man’s land,’’ he said.
‘‘They have no recourse to equitable justice.
‘‘Unfortunately, even some people in government remain beating the same drum...about self-managed investors having greater choice, and with greater choice comes greater responsibility.
‘‘It is a mantra that neglects to acknowledge the real facts or admit the actual evidence.’’
Mr Jones said he and Ms Bird had made ‘‘many representations’’ to federal minister Bill Shorten
on behalf of all Trio victims, including in regard to the recovery of missing funds.
“We have been assured that ASIC continues to commit substantial resources to this investigation,’’ Mr Jones said.
‘‘Inquiries into missing funds by ASIC are complex and time-consuming as information and many key witness relevant to this investigation are located offshore. ‘‘ASIC’s inquiries are dependent on obtaining assistance from overseas regulatory authorities and will not be completed for some time.
‘‘As a result of ASIC’s actions to date, more than 10 individuals have either been jailed, banned from the financial services industry or being a director, prevented from acting as a registered company auditor, or agreed to remove themselves from the financial services industry,’’ Mr Jones said.
‘‘Given the nature of these financial offshore investments, we understand that there is no guarantee the funds will be located or that it will be possible to recover the money from offshore.
‘‘Unfortunately, even with the best regulators in the world, fraudulent activity can still take place.’’
