Quick take:
- Leading Web3 investment firm Animoca brands has been convicted and fined by the ASIC.
- The company was accused of failing to comply with financial reporting obligations.
- ASIC said Thursday that Animoca failed to lodge financial results for the last two fiscal years.
Animoca Brands has been convicted and fined by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) for failing to comply with financial reporting obligations.
The leading blockchain and NFT investment company has been accused of not lodging financial results for full-year results for the 2019/2022 fiscal year and the half-year results for the 2020/2021 reporting period.
Animoca Brands had been summoned to appear before the Downing Centre Court on 21 June 2022 but failed to show up. ASIC proceeded with the conviction in its absence.
Half-year and full-year financial reporting wth the ASIC is a requirement provided for in Section 319 of the Corporations Act.
This is not the first incident pitting Animoca and Australian financial markets institutions. The company was famously delisted from the ASX in March 2020, when it was valued at about $120 million.
It has since grown to a market value of approximately $5 billion, based on its $359 million fundraisings completed earlier this year.
The Hong Kong-based company revealed that it had $1.5 billion worth of assets under management in June 2022, spread across 340 investment projects. The unaudited results also showed that gross booking grew significantly to $573 million during the first four months of 2022 compared to $148 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2021.
Therefore, Animoca is clearly reporting results on a regular basis, but not with the ASIC, it seems.
In response to the conviction and the fine, Animoca said “[it] wishes to clarify that it was unaware of the proceedings described in ASIC’s media release. The Company is working with its legal counsel, King & Wood Mallesons, to help resolve the matter.”
Animoca said it will investigate the circumstances that led to the situation, promising to “work productively with ASIC to ensure that Animoca Brands’ shareholders are protected.”
The company is currently working with auditors to finalise its outstanding financial reports announced earlier in June.
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