ASIC Probes Individuals in Sanjeev Gupta's Collapsed Australian Empire

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has confirmed it is pursuing investigations into individuals connected to the downfall of Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance in Australia. This development comes as three of Gupta's industrial operations Down Under have ceased trading, plunging hundreds of workers into uncertainty and leaving creditors millions of dollars out of pocket. The South Australian government previously intervened to place the debt-ridden Whyalla steelworks into administration, with the Tahmoor Coal mine in New South Wales and the Liberty Bell Bay manganese smelter in Tasmania following suit.

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A lot of us that have been there for a long time, we're invested in the site … in some circumstances, 20, 30, 40 years. We're friends, we're family. I suppose everybody's under stress on site.

Workers like Greg Dawson, who has dedicated 32 years to the Liberty Bell Bay smelter, express the deep personal investment and stress felt by those facing job losses. "A lot of us that have been there for a long time, we're invested in the site... in some circumstances, 20, 30, 40 years. We're friends, we're family," he shared, highlighting the human cost of these corporate collapses.

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It would be inappropriate to comment on the nature and scope of those investigations at this time.

Despite accusations of a slow response, ASIC maintains it is taking decisive action. Sydney University Corporate Law Professor Jason Harris described the failures as a "slow-moving car crash" and supports ASIC's investigation, emphasizing the need for accountability when businesses are "run into the ground over years and in plain sight of regulators." He suggests ASIC should scrutinize when directors suspected insolvency and whether related party transactions breached their duties.

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ASIC has taken decisive and timely enforcement action against this complex web of private companies.