Court fines Sino Australia Oil and Gas Limited and disqualifies former chairman, Tianpeng Shao 

ASIC_regulator

The Federal Court of Australia has ordered that Sino Australia Oil and Gas Limited (in liquidation) (Sino) pay a pecuniary penalty of $800,000 and its former chairman, Mr Tianpeng Shao, be disqualified from managing corporations for a period of 20 years.

The penalty and disqualification ordered follows a decision of the Court on 11 August 2016, where it declared that Sino and Mr Shao had contravened the Corporations Act 2001.

Justice Davies said:

‘Mr Shao’s explanation was that he did not understand Australia’s legal requirements. If he did not understand Australia’s legal requirements, his lack of knowledge demonstrated a lack of diligence and care by him in informing himself properly and fully about the company’s legal obligations and a serious lack of appreciation of the importance of continuous disclosure.’

In imposing the pecuniary penalty upon Sino, the Court gave consideration to the maximum penalty available, which is $1 million, and the increasing trend in entities from emerging markets seeking and obtaining listing on the ASX, particularly from the Asia-Pacific region.

ASIC Commissioner John Price said, ”The provision of accurate and timely information lies at the heart of the integrity and efficiency of our financial markets and those principles were undoubtedly breached in this case.

‘The Court accepted that the penalty should reflect the need for a strong message that it is vital that people contemplating entry to the Australian market must familiarise themselves with and understand the rules of the market, and adhere to those rules.’

Source: ASIC

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