Peter Nicholas Cook of Coogee, NSW, has been disqualified by ASIC from managing companies for the maximum period of five years as a result of his involvement in twelve failed companies.

ASIC found that Mr Cook:

• improperly used his corporate position by causing his companies to make loan repayments to related companies ahead of third party creditors whilst they were in financial difficulty;
• failed to prevent some of the companies from trading whilst insolvent;
• failed to ensure that proper financial records were kept;
• failed to assist the liquidators of the companies after the companies had been wound up;
• failed to exercise his duties as a director with due care and diligence; and
• lacked the skills and expertise to manage the companies.

The twelve companies were:

In making its decision to disqualify Mr Cook, ASIC relied on reports lodged by liquidators of the failed companies.  ASIC provided Assetless Administration Funding to the Liquidators of BDJ Services (Australia) Pty Ltd and Allinam Consulting Pty Ltd to prepare supplementary reports used to disqualify Mr Cook.

ASIC Deputy Chair Peter Kell said, "ASIC is extremely vigilant when it comes to protecting small businesses and will take firm action to protect creditors, consumers and investors from directors who fail to manage companies to the standards imposed by the law."

"The maximum banning period imposed reflects the number of failed companies involved and the poor manner in which those companies were managed."

Mr Cook's disqualification took effect from 2 September 2017 and extends to 1 September 2022.

Background

Section 206F of the Corporations Act allows ASIC to disqualify a person from managing corporations for up to five years if, within a seven year period, the person was an officer of two or more companies, and those companies were wound up and a liquidator provides a report to ASIC about the company’s inability to pay its debts.

ASIC also maintains a 'Banned and Disqualified Persons'" register that provides information about people who have been disqualified from:

• involvement in the management of a corporation,
• auditing self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs), or
• practising in the financial services of credit industry.