‘Why aren’t there more people in jail?’: Joe Longo’s parting shot at ASIC’s critics
The outgoing ASIC chief says the regulator wants to help courts “get to the heart” of cases more quickly.
ASIC chairman Joe Longo blames politicians for the corporate cop’s mixed reputation.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that there’s a mismatch of community expectations as articulated by parliamentary committees ... they’re our elected representatives, and they’re saying, well, 'why aren’t you going after the directors? Why aren’t there more people in jail?' ”
Longo, who finishes his five-year stint on 31 May, did a batch of exit interviews last week, including with Capital Brief.
The interviews came ahead of a packed final week, including the penalty hearing in the most important case of his tenure, ASIC v Star Entertainment, and an appearance at Senate estimates on Friday.
Longo said ASIC would learn from Star, in which it failed to prove its duty of care case against seven non-executive directors over but succeeded against former CEO Matt Bekier and legal counsel Paula Martin.
