ASIC has adopted a practice of issuing combined media releases about administrative action. There is no relationship between the matters or the subjects in this media release, except that ASIC has taken administrative action.

Disqualification of Yahya Alameddine

ASIC has disqualified Mr Yahya Alameddine of Sydney, NSW, from managing companies for the maximum period of five years.

Mr Alameddine was disqualified for his role in the failure of four companies:

• KEM Group Pty Ltd ACN 613 362 182 (KEM Group);
• ABT Enterprises Pty Ltd ACN 610 301 589 (ABT Enterprises);
• GYA Group Pty Ltd ACN 603 108 470 (GYA Group); and
• World Co Pty Ltd ACN 147 601 821.

The companies were involved in labour hire and consultancy services.

ASIC found that Mr Alameddine:

• improperly used his position as a director;
• failed to exercise his powers and discharge his duties with due care and diligence by continuing to accrue taxation liabilities;
• demonstrated poor compliance by failing to lodge Business Activity Statements;
• failed to ensure that employee entitlements were paid;
• failed to keep adequate written financial records; and
• failed to provide company books to a liquidator.

The companies collapsed owing creditors $1,558,338.

In deciding to disqualify Mr Alameddine, ASIC relied on reports lodged by liquidators of the failed companies.  ASIC provided Assetless Administration Funding to the liquidators of KEM Group, ABT Enterprises and GYA Group to prepare supplementary reports.

Mr Alameddine is disqualified until 29 April 2025.

Disqualification of Ron Bensimon

Mr Ron Bensimon (also known as Ronnie Ben-Simon), formerly of Prahran, Victoria has been disqualified from managing companies by ASIC for three years.

Mr Bensimon was the director of three failed companies:

• Bensimon Pty Ltd ACN 164 971 224
• RR Fine Jewels Pty Ltd ACN 163 819 761 (RRF)
• Bensimon Retail Group Pty Ltd ACN 600 303 240 (BRG).

Liquidators were appointed to all three companies on 1 July 2016. All three companies were involved in the sale of jewelry, which included a store at Crown Casino, Melbourne.

ASIC found that Mr Bensimon had:

• failed to ensure that the companies paid their debts and statutory taxes;
• failed to ensure that the companies lodged tax documents;
• failed to ensure that adequate books and records were kept; and
• failed to act in accordance with his directors duties.

The total amount of debts owed by the three companies to creditors was in excess of $6.9 million.

In making its decision to disqualify Mr Bensimon, ASIC relied on supplementary reports lodged by the Liquidators of RRF and BRG.

Mr Bensimon is disqualified until 23 April 2023.

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.