John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to talk on a most important issue that faces our nation, and that is the issue of people being ripped off by people laundering money, taking people's life savings and leaving them homeless and in dire financial straits. I refer to a story in the Age by journalist Adele Ferguson, a courageous journalist who, in my opinion, always speaks the facts. In her story, Ms Ferguson says:

In the summer of 2006, when swimming pool cleaner John Nicoll realised he had lost his life's savings in a get-rich investment scheme gone wrong, thoughts of revenge consumed him.

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"I trusted him," Nicoll says of business man Ian Lazar. He blames Lazar for stripping him of his life choices. … Nicoll and dozens of investors had placed their trust in Lazar and his seemingly well-credentialled companies.

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BACF—

the BA group of companies—

engaged in managed investment schemes but quickly went on to cost self-funded retirees in Australia at least $15 million, with many losing their homes, their retirement savings and their marriages.

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The BA companies were put into liquidation in 2005 after complaints from investors and ASIC's investigation found BACF was operating an unregistered managed investment scheme.

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The Nauru government eventually paid out more than $8.5 million, but investors saw none of it.

Documents filed with ASIC and to creditors reveal that the liquidator, Andrew Wily of Armstrong Wily, took an estimated $1.6 million in fees between 2005 and September 2008, law firm Nikolaidis & Company was paid $2.1 million at September 29, 2007, a litigation funder that was set up in a tax haven in Vanuatu with no visible directors was paid $3.1 million in commission, and $1 million was paid to a Lazar-related company, HLBC.

Mr Wily was appointed liquidator in 2005. Wily appointed notorious debt collector and former financial adviser to Alan Bond, Jim Byrnes. Some of you may have heard of Jim Byrnes.