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Bloomberg
Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. is being sued by the securities regulator over a controversial 2015 share sale which is already the subject of criminal-cartel charges.
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission alleges the lender breached continuous disclosure responsibilities by not informing the market that the joint lead managers of the sale took up approximately 25.5 million shares in the placement, the bank. The $1.8 billion placement of 80.8 million shares is already the subject of separate criminal proceedings relating to how the investment banks disposed of the shares they were left with.
Australian prosecutors allege the former local heads of Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG, among others, engaged in criminal cartel behaviour. All deny the charges.
In its court filings, ASIC said that the failure to disclose the purchases by the underwriters “materially prejudiced†the interests of those buying and selling shares in the market, including people who took part in a subsequent retail shareholder repurchase plan.