ASIC Sues Auditeo Australia Over First Guardian Fund Failures

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has initiated Federal Court proceedings against Auditeo Australia and auditors Ajm Didarul Islam Khan and Brian Robert Taylor. The regulator alleges the defendants issued false or misleading unqualified audit reports for the First Guardian Master Fund between 2020 and 2024, violating the Corporations Act 2001.

ASIC claims that the audit process lacked a reasonable basis and failed to perform required work under auditing standards. Specifically, the regulator alleges that approximately A$137 million in assets went untested in 2022, a figure that rose to A$170 million in 2023. These failures preceded the collapse of the First Guardian Master Fund.

The collapse of the fund affected more than 6,000 Australian investors, with potential losses reaching A$446 million. ASIC is seeking injunctions, declarations of contravention, and financial penalties against the firm and the individual auditors.