GetSwift was hit with a $15m fine. Photo: Shutterstock
After a landmark case against now-collapsed software start up GetSwift culminated in a record $15 million fine, Australia’s national corporate regulator, ASIC, has signalled higher penalties for breaches of market disclosure rules.
The former ASX-listed GetSwift was handed its $15 million penalty (dubbed “the largest ever penalty against a company for breaching continuous disclosure laws”) in relation to some decidedly misleading statements it made in its announcements on the ASX, and a range of breaches to its continuous disclosure obligations during 2017.
In an unsparing 70-page judgement, the court outlined a series of ASX announcements where GetSwift shared news of agreements with major clients such as Amazon, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Yum Brands – however, these clients were only trialling or contemplating a trial of the GetSwift platform and were not revenue-generating when announced.
The long-running case further concluded with two of GetSwift’s former directors receiving two of the “highest penalties” ordered against directors for corporate misconduct: a $2 million penalty with…
