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ARTICLE · 16 MARCH 2024

Finder triumphs, as Court finds Earn product is not a debenture

Piper Alderman
Piper Alderman
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A sweeping win for Finder Wallet, which had defended ASIC allegations that its Earn product was a debenture.

AustraliaTechnology
Michael Bacina
Michael Bacina
Steven Pettigrove
Steven Pettigrove
Jake Huang
Jake Huang
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Justice Markovic of the Federal Court handed down judgment today finding that Finder Wallet's Earn product was not a debenture as alleged by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and ordering ASIC to pay costs. The judgment is a sweeping win for Finder Wallet which had defended allegations brought by ASIC that its Earn product was a debenture under Section 9 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act).

ASIC had commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against Finder Wallet in December 2022. The Finder.com subsidiary was alleged to have provided unlicensed financial services, breaching product disclosure requirements, and failing to comply with design and distribution obligations in connection with the Finder Earn product. Finder Wallet defended the matter which went to trial in the Federal Court in October last year.

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