George Osvald Sturesteps, former right-hand man to HIH founder Ray Williams, has become the 20^th person disqualified the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) in relation to the HIH collapse.

Mr Sturesteps held a number of positions at HIH, including MD of its international business. He also acted as an executive director and worked with Mr Williams for more than 30 years at HIH and previous companies.

APRA found Mr Sturesteps “demonstrated a lack of knowledge, competence or diligence in carrying out his duties” by arranging for HIH to enter into “fronting” transactions where cover was written for film finance for a total of 29 movies “without adequate due diligence or risk assessment”.

The regulator also found Mr Sturesteps failed to take steps to ensure the HIH board and its external auditors were informed of the contents of a report concluding that HIH America was under-provisioned by around $US53 million.