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National firm eyes class action against company amid APRA court proceedings
A national law firm says it is investigating a class action against IOOF, after last week saw the financial services company come under fire, with APRA launching court proceedings against it.
Emma Musgrave
Last week saw APRA open up Federal Court proceedings against IOOF, with the regulator wanting to disqualify the managing director, chairman and CFO of the financial services giant for “failing to act in the best interests of superannuation members”.
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APRA alleges that IOOF failed to act in the best interest of superannuation members, with the action following months of revelations in the recent royal commission that IOOF used members’ own money to compensate them for losses they suffered over a payment error.
Shine Lawyers has now taken a stance against IOOF also, saying it is currently proposing a claim against the company.
The law firm said it has undertaken a year-long investigation into alleged corporate misconduct within IOOF, with backing from ICP and Litigation Lending, and it's proposed claim will be subject to the finalisation of that investigation, as well as interest from IOOF shareholders.
“[Last week’s] action by APRA comes after revelations of alleged corporate misconduct within IOOF in the media in June 2015, followed by appearances by IOOF’s managing director and other senior executives at a Senate Inquiry in July and August 2015 and at the banking royal commission earlier this year. IOOF’s alleged misconduct dates back to at least 2007,” Shine Lawyers said in a statement.
Adding to this, Shine Lawyers special counsel for class actions, Craig Allsopp, who was formerly a senior lawyer in ASIC’s enforcement area, said: “We have been reviewing IOOF’s documents and preparing a claim against IOOF on behalf of shareholders”.
“We are investigating a number of instances of alleged misconduct, as well as whether IOOF had appropriate policies and processes to identify and report misconduct to regulators,” Mr Allsopp added.
“We welcome APRA’s actions against IOOF and we will look closely at what the regulator has to say about alleged misconduct by IOOF.”
