Court appoints Deloitte to manage Shield accounts

The Federal Court has further tightened the legal settings around Keystone Asset Management and its Shield Master Trust, appointing Deloitte’s Jason Tracy and Lucica Palaghia to have full control of the Shield bank accounts.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said the court orders prevent Keystone, which is the responsible entity for Shield from selling, transferring, or dealing with Shield’s assets other than to make certain payments that must first be approved by Deloitte.

ASIC said in a statement that it took the action to protect investor funds while its investigation continues into concerns about the management and operation of Shield and the associated risks to investors. Some of these concerns include:

• Keystone has failed to lodge Keystone’s and Shield’s audited FY2023 financial statements,
• a large proportion of the funds held by Shield have been directed to a fund which made loans to various companies associated with Paul Chiodo, a former director of Keystone to fund property developments, and
• ensuring there is independent oversight with respect to any payments going forward.

As part of the court appointment, Deloitte’s Tracy and Palaghia:

• will have to assess whether payments are in the best interests of Shield investors, and
• prepare a report on the financial position of Shield by 23 July 2024.

The matter will be back before the Federal Court in August at a date yet to be fixed.

Chiodo also provided an undertaking to the Court to give ASIC written notice 14 days prior to any international travel and to take all reasonable steps to comply with any notices issued by ASIC in the event he is travelling overseas. Travel restraint orders previously made by the Court on 18 June 2024 have been vacated.