Reply from ASIC

Alita Resources Limited (ACN 147 393 735) (‘A40’ (in Liquidation)

Thank you for your correspondence of 21 December 2019, in which you raise concern that Alita Resources Limited failed to update the market in a timely fashion, traded while insolvent and director Mr Mark Turner disposed of shares while having access to knowledge the market did not have.

ASIC values the information we receive from the public, and reports of misconduct such as yours assist us in working to build confidence in the integrity of the capital markets.

ASIC conducts an assessment of every report of misconduct we receive. The issues you have raised will receive careful consideration, and we have recorded them on our internal intelligence database.

In selecting matters for regulatory action, we consider a range of factors, including whether the misconduct report suggests any breaches of the law we administer, whether we have sufficient grounds to suspect that a breach has occurred, and whether regulatory intervention would benefit the broader community beyond the affected individuals.

Please find enclosed Information Sheet 152 Public comment on ASIC’s regulatory activities which sets out the limited circumstances when we will comment publicly on our activities. These limitations are intended to protect the confidentiality of information reported to ASIC and the integrity of ASIC’s investigation and enforcement activities. For matters involving our market supervision, we are aware that any public comment may affect trading in the market, and we are committed to a fair, orderly, and transparent market.

Accordingly, ASIC does not comment on operational matters, or our assessment of information in relation to markets matters, and we are unable to provide further details about what, if any, action we may or may not take in relation to the concerns you have raised. We hope you can appreciate the reasons why we do not make such comment.

If you require any information on our role as a market supervisor, or enforcement action taken by ASIC, please visit ASIC’s website at www.asic.gov.au.

Misconduct within a company when an insolvency practitioner has been appointed
ASIC believes that these types of disputes are best resolved through communication with the insolvency practitioner appointed to the company; not with formal intervention by ASIC investigators.

Information Sheet 175 Misconduct within a company when an insolvency practitioner has been appointed includes details of what to do in cases of these disputes. It also contains information on what to do if you are concerned about the conduct of an insolvency practitioner.

This useful guide outlines some of the options you should pursue to resolve your dispute.

ASIC and misconduct within company
We do not generally get involved in reports of alleged misconduct within a company after an insolvency practitioner’s appointment to the company, until we receive a report of misconduct from an insolvency practitioner.

While we will conduct an assessment of the issues you raised to determine whether ASIC should take any action, the steps outlined in Information Sheet 175 are the best way to resolve your dispute.

Please note that ASIC will only contact you again about your report of misconduct if we require further information or evidence to assist in our inquiries.

Yours sincerely