ASIC is investigating all aspects of the business operated by Gregory Raymond Cotton and First Mutual Private Equity Pty Ltd (FMPE).
Why has ASIC taken action to freeze the bank accounts and other assets of Mr Cotton and FMPE?
ASIC’s investigation indicates that in the period January 2020 to August 2025, Mr Cotton and FMPE raised around $131 million from investors which was to be invested on the ASX. The purpose of the investments was to generate returns sufficient to pay quarterly interest to investors and to repay the principal amounts when due.
In proceedings issued on 15 August 2025 (Proceeding), ASIC took court action to freeze the bank accounts and other assets of Mr Cotton and FMPE because of concerns identified in the course of an ASIC investigation that those funds had not been used for the intended purpose and that allegedly:
- instead, investor funds have been largely spent on gambling (around $80 million, with losses of around $51 million) and to fund payments owed to investors (around $67 million)
- no investment of the funds (on the ASX or otherwise) appears to have taken place, and
- only around $7 million in remaining assets can be presently identified.
The purpose of the orders is to prevent harm to investors, including to any new investors who may otherwise have invested in the Cotton and FMPE business.
The freezing orders remain in place until further order of the Court and prevent payments being made to investors.
Who is appearing at Court? What if I want to appear or attend?
Presently, the parties are ASIC (the Plaintiff) and the Defendants, Mr Cotton and FMPE. By orders dated 5 November 2025, the Court ordered that any person who wants to be joined to the Proceeding (as a party) must make an application supported by evidence and submissions by 18 November 2025.
The Hass Group, which is a group of investors, has been joined to the proceedings
The time and location of the Court hearings can be found on the Federal Court website Daily Court lists. This information is usually made available the day before any hearing. The hearing is broadcast online (with a requirement that you are muted and off-camera) and anyone can attend the physical hearings in person (which take place at the Federal Court building in Melbourne (305 William Street).
What are the next steps in the court proceedings?
On 15 December 2025, following an application made by ASIC, the Federal Court ordered that Receivers be appointed to the property of Mr Cotton and FMPE. The role of the Receivers was to identify assets of Mr Cotton and FMPE that may be in the possession of third parties and to determine the financial position of the FMPE business.
The Receiver’s report was filed at Court on 20 February 2026, and they have been appointed until 28 April 2026.
On 20 March 2026 the Court ordered the following:
Receivers Report
That the Receivers’ Report be released from 10am 27 March 2026. The process for obtaining a copy of the Report is as follows:
- Redactions be applied to the Report to protect sensitive or confidential information
- the Redacted Deloitte Report be made available on the Federal Court of Australia’s website, in the section relating to cases of public interest, to persons who identify as investors of, or lenders to, the First and/or Second Defendants
- the website will contain a notice concerning the terms on which the Report can be obtained including that it must not be provided to any other person.
The frozen funds
The frozen funds are to be transferred by the Receivers into interest bearing accounts
Next steps
A Case Management Hearing was held on 20 March 2026, with orders made on 26 March 2026. The matter is listed for a further Case Management Hearing on 17 April 2026.
Next hearing
A case management hearing has been scheduled for 17 April 2026 at 9.30am in order to make directions for the management of the case.
Mr Cotton’s legal costs
The Court has previously ordered that Mr Cotton can access funds in the bank accounts which are subject to the freezing orders, to release a further sum of $250,000 to cover his legal costs.
What is ASIC investigating?
ASIC is investigating all aspects of the business operated by Mr Cotton and FMPE.
ASIC is concerned that Mr Cotton and/or FMPE (and others) may have carried on an unlicensed financial services business without holding the necessary licences, may have acted unlawfully as a director of FMPE and may have obtained funds illegally. The investigation is ongoing, and no conclusion has been reached that there has been any contravention. It is not possible to say, at this time, how long it will take ASIC to investigate the matter.
Can I expect to recover my investment? What is the status of my investment?
ASIC understands this is the primary concern of investors. While recovering investor funds is a priority, the position is legally complex and ultimately, the Court (not ASIC) will be required to decide the position. At this stage:
- ASIC cannot provide detailed information in relation to the timing or amount of any payments to investors, and
- as above, ASIC’s investigation to date has only been able to identify $7 million of the $131 million that appears to have been raised from investors since January 2020.
Am I required to take any steps at this stage?
No action is required from investors at this stage. It may be that ASIC will ask you to provide information in relation to the circumstances of your investment. In its investigations, ASIC typically relies on the assistance of investors to work out what happened and identify any enforcement action that may be appropriate.
The best way to get information about this investigation is to monitor this webpage. ASIC will continue to update the webpage where possible as the investigation progresses.
While ASIC is endeavouring to respond to emails as soon as practicable, please understand:
ASIC is Australia's integrated corporate, markets, financial services and consumer credit regulator.
