RADIO talkback tsar Alan Jones has defended his role in promoting the collapsed Fincorp group, despite two years of action against the company by the corporate regulator.
Moderator
collapsed Fincorp group, despite two years of action against the
company by the corporate regulator.
Jones had in 2004 described Fincorp, which collapsed last month owing
7800 mostly retiree investors $201million, as a "great Australian
company" as part of an endorsement deal with Radio 2BG.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission made its first
move against Fincorp in 2002. Although Jones stopped spruiking the
high-risk property development group after 2004, 2GB's on-air
advertising of its products continued.
"Are your cash investments earning 11.75 per cent? They can be if
they're with Fincorp," the advertisements claimed.
This week Jones defended listener criticisms over his station's
support of the Fincorp product.
"We advertised the product," Jones said. "However, radio wasn't the
only instrument this company chose for advertisements."
Jones has admitted he was concerned about the group as early as 2004.
ASIC said this week it had forced Fincorp to improve disclosure six
times since 2002, including taking court action.
"I noted this and was concerned about advertising the product," Jones
told investors on his breakfast show this week. "I urged that we get
appropriate legal advice and we were told ... Fincorp had addressed
the deficiencies that ASIC had identified in earlier prospectuses.
"The concern I always have is whether people are likely to be dudded
by anything we might say."
This follows past criticism of Jones's backing on his show of other
failed groups such as Estate Mortgages, which collapsed in the late
1980s owing 50,000 investors $1billion.
More recently Jones backed the now-liquidated Online Super, the
company that raised much of the money sunk in Westpoint, the property
empire with a similar financial model to Fincorp. Westpoint collapsed
last year owing 4000 investors more than $300million.
Jones on Thursday lashed out at the corporate regulator. He told his
audience that ASIC was "not worth two bob" in its enforcement
activities.
"It is ASIC whose charter is to enforce and regulate company and
financial services laws to protect consumers, investors and
creditors," he said.
"The performance of this crowd and Government in all of this is
reprehensible."
Graham MacAuley lost $300,000 in Westpoint after approaching Online
Super, prompted by a Jones advertorial. He told The Weekend Australian
Jones seemed to have had bad luck when it came to promoting financial
products.