In June, ABN Amro alleged that LGFS suffered losses due to its own failure to take reasonable care and make reasonable inquiries about S&P's opinion of Rembrandt notes, according to ABN Amro's defence filed to the Federal Court.
Meanwhile, in August, Melbourne-based legal firm Macpherson + Kelley Lawyers represented around 5000 investors in actions against agribusiness firms Timbercorp, Great Southern, Rewards Group and Forest Enterprises Australia, seeking around half a billion dollars in damages on behalf of investors.
In September, dealer group Wright Global Investments collapsed owing around $2 million to its employees and advisers, with more than $1 million linked to former Trio Capital chief executive Shawn Richard, according to minutes of the firm's creditors' meeting.
In October, the administrator of failed broker firm Sonray Capital Markets recommended the company be wound up as any attempt at fund recovery would likely only return between 25 to 30 cents in the dollar to investors. A report found that from the 2007 financial year to the 2009 financial year, Sonray's total expenses increased by 241.54 per cent or $4.2 million, whereas gross profit increased by 133.46 per cent or $1.2 million.
A month later, the liquidator of Sonray secured a $500,000 loan to fund a series of mediations with parties linked to the collapsed broker.
In an affidavit filed in the Victoria registry of the Federal Court, Sonray liquidator George Georges, of Ferrier Hodgson, said he had secured the loan from Sonray's former banking partner, Saxo Bank, to fund further investigations.
