The Federal Court has found Cigno Australia Pty Ltd (Cigno Australia) and BSF Solutions Pty Ltd (BSF Solutions) engaged in credit activity without an Australian Credit licence and charged consumers prohibited fees.
The Court also found that Cigno Australia director Mark Swanepoel and BSF Solutions director Brenton Harrison were involved in the unlicensed activity and other Credit Act breaches.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said, ‘ASIC has taken regulatory and enforcement action over many years to respond to various business models used by entities connected to Cigno Australia, BSF Solutions, Mr Swanepoel and Mr Harrison.’
‘We took this action because we were concerned that the Cigno Australia and BSF Solutions ‘No Upfront Charge Loan Model’ provided short-term loans totalling over $34 million and charged over $70 million in fees to more than 100,000 consumers between July 2022 and December 2022.’
The Court made orders restraining Cigno Australia and BSF Solutions from recovering any further fees, charges or other amounts (including late payment fees and amounts of principal).
The matter is listed for a further case management hearing on 21 June 2024 for the consideration of further relief against the Respondents including adverse publicity orders and civil penalties.