Tuesday 5 September 2006 – LAWFUEL – Law News Network – Two Sydney men were today committed to stand trial in the District Court of New South Wales following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) into Progressive Investment Securities Pty Ltd (Progressive) and Capital Investments Group (Aust) Pty Ltd. Mr Tunde Doja, of Sydney, NSW, was committed to stand trial on fraud charges and Mr Manouchehr ( Mark ) Tivay, of Seven Hills, NSW, was committed to stand trial on charges of unlawfully providing a financial service and inducing persons to deal in securities.
It is alleged that Mr Doja unlawfully provided financial services to a number of investors who were enticed into investing in securities known as ORB 1, ORB 2 and OMIP 15 – 7, through the use of Macquarie Bank Margin Lending. The investors were required to enter into agreements with Macquarie Bank for up to $300,000 in margin loans on each product. Many of these loans are now in default. Many of their clients lived in Sydney’s southern and western suburbs. In October 2005, Macquarie Bank estimated its losses to be approximately $4.5million.
It is also alleged that in many instances application forms for the margin loan facilities and interest prepayments were either fabricated or submitted without the investors’ knowledge. Mr Doja was formerly the sole director of Progressive where he promoted Australian growth timber products and other tax effective schemes to the clients of Progressive. Mr Doja was an authorised representative of a number of licensees.
These authorisations were limited to specific types of financial products. Mr Doja will stand trial for unlawfully providing a financial service and inducing persons to deal in securities under the Corporations Act (the Act). He will also stand trial on six counts of obtaining financial advantage by false or misleading statements under the NSW Crimes Act.
During the investigation, ASIC found that Mr Tivay had introduced several investors to Mr Doja and made statements to those persons concerning the investments. Mr Tivay was committed to stand trial today on two counts of unlawfully providing a financial service and two counts of inducing persons to deal in securities. Messrs Doja and Tivay are currently on bail and both men are due to appear on 15 September 2006 in the District Court of New South Wales.
These matters are being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. For further information contact: Allen Turton Deputy Executive Director, Enforcement Telephone: 02 9911 2338 Mobile: 0411 549 236 Danielle Huck ASIC Media Unit Telephone: 03 9280 3407 Mobile: 0417 540 769
