Retiring Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Chairman David Knott was still under fire from the media last week, continuing to slap aside allegations regarding his business relationships years before he entered the public service. For ASIC, it hasn’t been easy, either. It’s an unfortunate fact that media attacks – no matter how ill-founded – can have a severe impact. So while it couldn’t expose its chairman to even further criticism by defending him, the regulator got into the act last week with a spirited denial of the latest allegations by Business Review Weekly journalist Adele Ferguson.

In a short and terse statement released by Director of Public Affairs Kate Harvey – unusually, it did not mention any other contact officer – ASIC denied that Mr Knott had targeted high-profile individuals for prosecution over the years rather than little known individuals and companies. ASIC said it “targets wrongdoing, not individuals”.

Ms Ferguson said Mr Knott’s record in going after companies rather than high-profile individuals like Rodney Adler, Nick Whitlam, Rene Rivkin and John Elliott is questionable. She suggested ASIC had some type of plan to sharpen-up its image by targeting business people “in the limelight”.   

The ASIC statement said there is no project to target high-profile businessmen, “and there never has been one during Mr Knott’s term”. It is charged to “strive to take whatever action it can take, and is necessary, in order to enforce and give effect to the laws for which it is responsible”.

Last year about 94% of ASIC’s litigation was successful, seeing 29 business criminals jailed and civil orders obtained against 151 companies or individuals.