Surprise raids on a Melbourne based Pre-Insolvency firm conducted by the ATO and ASIC has discovered a banned liquidator allegedly working under an alias according to an article appearing in today’s Sydney Insolvency News.

Apart from furthering its investigations into the practices of  untrustworthy pre-insolvency advisors, the article goes on to say the AISC & ATO raid may also have uncovered a significant tax fraud involving:

• the backdating of directorship resignation forms on advice from the Pre-Insolvency firm; and
• the insertion of a new director by the Pre-Insolvency adviser who would later place the company into liquidation

It seems “the ATO is looking at how a $25,000 debt owed to it by a small computer repairer morphed into $488,000 in PAYG arrears.

ASIC says “Don’t Risk it with Untrustworthy Advisers”

With the focus turning on untrustworthy Pre-Insolvency advisers, the ASIC believes it is best for all involved to used qualified, reputable and licensed persons when it comes to Insolvency and Liquidation.

As the ASIC Commissioner said  ‘… business advisers will be held personally responsible for knowingly providing advice to clients that causes their clients to act illegally’. That means, if the client performs an illegal act, it will be as though the business adviser did that act.