In Australian Securities & Investments Commission [ASIC] v Lindberg [2012] VSC 332 Judge Robson of the Supreme Court of Victoria made a declaration of contravention under s 1317E(1) of the Corporations Act in respect of each of four admitted contraventions by former Australian Wheat Board managing director Andrew Lindberg and banned him from managing a corporation until 14 September 2014 and fined him $100,000 for his delays in informing his board about AWB’s wheat trade with Iraq and the misuse by AWB of the Oil For Food Program administered by the United Nations.
Judge Robson concluded:
I am satisfied that Mr Lindberg has contravened s 180(1) of the Act as admitted by him. The contraventions are all akin to an admission of negligence by him in performing his duties as a director and officer of AWB. None of the contraventions involve deliberate wrongful acts, dishonesty or any moral turpitude. Nevertheless, Mr Lindberg failed to perform his duties as a reasonable director or officer would in his situation. I find that the breaches of the Act were serious. I have concluded that the period of disqualification and the pecuniary penalties agreed on fall within the ’permissible range’ although at the upper end of the range. I propose, in my discretion, to impose the disqualification and pecuniary penalties put forward by the parties: an aggregate pecuniary penalty of $100,000 and disqualification from managing a corporation until 14 September 2014.
