poor corporate governance.

CMQ had pleaded guilty to poor corporate governance and agree to pay pecuniary damages. Under the CLERP9 legislation the penalty had increased to $1M for each contravention after 1 July 2004. CMQ can ill afford to pay the pecuniary damages which could be as high as $2M plus massive accumulated court costs plus CMQ’s own legal bills which could make the $170K contribution to ASIC’s costs looks like petty cash!
And this is just the beginning. The case is far from over. This has just opened a floodgate for possible claims from members of the public for damages caused by the company’s failures. The dark cloud of possible future lengthy and costly trials from the public can be seen over the horizon.