Australian regulator pulls licenses of 95 companies in effort to crack down on investment scams

An Australian corporate regulator is pulling the plug on 95 companies registered in the country that are believed to be illegitimate, with many of them having suspected links to online scams. 

A federal judge approved the immediate deregistration of 93 of the companies in an order on March 21. Two others will be wound up over time because they have “meaningful” assets. 

In a release on Monday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said the regulator believed many of the companies were involved in “facilitating suspected scam activity by tricking consumers into making investments in phoney foreign exchange, digital assets or commodities trading.” 

Scammers set up the entities to give their businesses an air of legitimacy, ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, adding that the agency takes down 130 scam websites each week on average. 

“However, these scams are like hydras: you shut down one and two more take its place,” she said. 

An investigation found that the majority of the companies listed directors who had not consented to being in that position, and the vast majority of listed addresses did not appear to actually belong to the respective companies.

One of the companies whose license was immediately revoked is Titan Capital Markets, which sponsored the Fulham English Premier League soccer club until reports of alleged predatory investment practices emerged from outlets like The Athletic and Daily Mail. 

ASIC investigators found that a company address in Canberra did lead to an office with Titan’s insignia, but it was empty and all mail was returned. 

Purported investors into Titan Capital Markets, all from India, sent about 80 emails to liquidators after the investigation was announced saying they had put large amounts of money into the company.   

“We kindly request that our concerns as investors be taken into consideration, as we are deeply worried about the fate of our investments,” one email said. Titan did not respond to a request for comment. 

According to the court order, an ASIC investigation “into the circumstances surrounding the companies and their use in financial scam activity” is ongoing. 

Australians lost at least A$192.3 million (about $115.3 million) to investment scams last year, a decline of more than one-third year-to-year, according to Australia’s Anti-Scam Centre.