Mr Michael Malcolm Walker, a Sydney based company director has pleaded guilty and was convicted for lodging a document with ASIC that contained a false or misleading statement. Mr Walker was sentenced to a $350 good behaviour bond for a period of twelve months.

An ASIC investigation found that Mr Walker signed and lodged 'ASIC Form 6010 – Application for voluntary deregistration of a company', to deregister Easy RPL Pty Ltd,  declaring,  that the company was not a party to ongoing legal proceedings.

ASIC's investigation found that Mr Walker's declaration was false, because at the time that the time the document was lodged, Easy RPL Pty Ltd was a party to  proceedings in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

As a result of the conviction, Mr Walker is automatically disqualified from managing corporations until 8 December 2020.

 'As a director, you must ensure documents  submitted to ASIC are accurate,' ASIC Commissioner Greg Tanzer said. 'It goes to the heart of maintaining consumer trust and confidence. We won't hesitate to remove those who try to actively mislead the public in this regard.'

The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.

Background

Section 601AA of the Corporations Act 200 stipulates that a person can apply to deregister a company only if the company is not party to any legal proceedings. 

Info sheet (INFO 25) provides guidance on how to voluntarily deregister a company.