The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has applied to the Supreme Court of New South Wales to wind up Capital Guard AU Pty Ltd, alleging the Sydney-based firm sold bond investments that may never have existed. The corporate regulator is seeking to have control of the company transferred to an independent liquidator on just and equitable grounds.
According to ASIC, roughly 80 investors placed around A$17.4 million (about $11.4 million) with Capital Guard. The regulator said only a small proportion of this money remains in bank accounts and payment platforms it has identified, raising concerns about how investor funds have been handled.
ASIC is asking the court to either expedite the hearing of its wind-up application or, if that is not granted, to appoint provisional liquidators immediately. The regulator has nominated Robert Michael Kirman and Jacinta Lee Nielsen of McGrathNicol to act as liquidators. The application is supported by an affidavit sworn on July 13 by ASIC officer Jenna Helen Molesworth.
In its filing, ASIC said it has "serious concerns about Capital Guard's management", the treatment of investor money, and whether the bonds marketed to clients existed as advertised. The regulator also alleges the firm provided false information to its auditor and allowed its governance arrangements to deteriorate.
ASIC cancelled Capital Guard's Australian financial services licence on June 29. It said at the time that the firm had promoted a fake Macquarie Bank bond, supplied false documents to its auditor and published misleading statements on its website. Capital Guard had held licence number 498434 since August 2017, but the underlying business was sold in 2024 to the management that is now the subject of ASIC's scrutiny.
On July 3, ASIC added Capital Guard to its Moneysmart Investor Alert List, signalling heightened regulatory concern about the company. The firm's website has since gone offline, according to the regulator.
The matter is listed for a directions hearing on July 20 in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, where the court will consider the next steps in ASIC's application to wind up Capital Guard and the potential appointment of liquidators.
