ONE of the biggest losers in the scandalous collapse of the LMIM property fund in Australia is Australia itself. It’s clear that many of the investors were originally attracted to the fund for the very sound reason that it was based on property in Australia, generally regarded as one of the world’s best governed, financially sound and most strictly regulated countries. But more than one year after LMIM was wound up with losses of some $3,000 million, its thousands of victims located in almost 70 different countries across the globe are still waiting for the Australian government and its various agencies to come up with a rational explanation of how such a failure – one of the biggest in Australian history – could have escaped its notice. They’re also waiting for the government to announce how it’s going to deal with LMIM’s boss, Peter Drake, who’s reportedly still at liberty to continue in employment, as well as his fellow board members, who were surely fully aware of the parlous state of the fund long before it actually collapsed. The victims are now anxious to know what kind of settlement they can expect from what’s left of Drake’s various business and personal assets, which are thought to be considerable. And finally, they want to know about their financial entitlements from the regulatory authorities.
The damage the LMIM fiasco has caused to Australia’s reputation as a safe haven for investors is incalculable. If this fund can collapse so easily, so can others. The sooner Australia gets to grip with this scandal, the better it will be for all – especially the many people whose lives have been shattered by the greed of a few.
The damage the LMIM fiasco has caused to Australia’s reputation as a safe haven for investors is incalculable. If this fund can collapse so easily, so can others. The sooner Australia gets to grip with this scandal, the better it will be for all – especially the many people whose lives have been shattered by the greed of a few.
