Ex-BBY Executive Charged With Facilitating Dishonest Conduct In $192 Million Share Transaction

The former boss of collapsed stockbroking firm BBY Limited has appeared in court, now facing a new charge tied to alleged dishonest behavior involving a large $192 million share deal. Arunesh Narain Maharaj has been accused of encouraging or helping BBY act dishonestly when dealing with the ASX, the country’s main stock exchange.

The charge is linked to BBY’s involvement in buying shares in Aquila Resources, a commodities firm. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) says the dishonest actions happened over several months during the purchase.

ASIC Seeks To Hold Former BBY Executive Accountable For Alleged Misconduct

ASIC claims Maharaj played a part in helping BBY mislead the ASX while running its financial services business during the large-scale acquisition. According to an official statement, Maharaj “aided, abetted, counseled or procured” BBY in acting dishonestly. The alleged misconduct involved communications with ASX Ltd and its related companies during the Aquila Resources transaction for a client.

This newest charge is now the third allegation brought against Maharaj following ASIC’s ongoing review of BBY’s activities. He is already accused of being involved in two other fraud-related matters concerning improper access to funding from St George Bank, which is part of Westpac Banking Corporation.

Those two earlier charges suggest that Maharaj helped BBY access overdraft services from the bank in ways that were not allowed. ASIC says this conduct happened at two separate times during BBY’s operations, one-period occurring mid-year and another stretching over several months from late in the same year through the early part of the next.

Court proceedings were postponed and are set to continue at a later date. The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions is handling the case after receiving a referral from ASIC.

ASIC Seeks Strong Penalties And Ongoing Accountability As BBY Investigation Unfolds

The latest accusation carries serious penalties under the Corporations Act. If found guilty, Maharaj could face up to a decade in prison, financial penalties up to $765,000, or fines equal to three times any gain obtained from the misconduct. These potential outcomes are based on laws that applied before changes were made to increase the maximum penalties.

The earlier fraud-related allegations also carry similar sentencing possibilities, each bringing a potential maximum of 10 years imprisonment under New South Wales criminal law.

BBY Limited once operated as a stockbroking and financial services firm but went into voluntary administration before being shut down completely. The company was eventually placed into liquidation, leaving behind major shortfalls in client funds and impacting many investors.

ASIC suspended the company’s Australian Financial Services license as BBY entered administration, keeping it inactive until the license was officially canceled years later. The investigation into BBY’s conduct is still underway, indicating more developments could surface.