AUS: ASIC moves against officers of Opes Prime
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has secured orders preventing the three directors of Opes Prime Stockbroking Limited from leaving the country. And hints at a whistleblower.
In the Federal Court in Melbourne , ASIC obtained orders by consent preventing Lirim (Laurie) Emini from leaving Australia. The court also ordered that Mr Emini provide 48 hours notice to ASIC of his intention to request the return of his passports, which he had given to ASIC voluntarily. In addition, Anthony Blumberg and Julian Smith have agreed with ASIC to surrender their passports to their legal advisers and give the regulator seven days notice of any intention to travel. The orders will remain in effect until 3 October 2008. ASIC had filed with the court an affidavit with evidence of trading irregularities within Opes Prime that was derived from a witness interview. ASIC requested the court suppress some of that information so as not to compromise its ongoing investigations. However, the court ordered that all client identities be suppressed from the affidavit presented by ASIC as well as the witness identity.
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