Industry CEO Fined $15,000 over $357,000 invoice

SYDNEY: Former NewSat CEO Adrian Ballintine has been fined $15,000 in the County Court of Victoria after pleading guilty to a charge of authorising false or misleading statements in documents required by the Corporations Act.

NewSat, founded in 1987, was a well-known and ASX-listed satellite communications provider until August 2015.

The company claimed to provide coverage to 75pc of the earth’s surface but eventually ran into financial trouble and was liquidated in August 2015.

The case against Ballintine was launched by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which alleged that between January 2012 and September 15 of the same year, Ballintine was responsible for the issuing of invoices for $357,000 to NewSat for “purported financial and advisory services”, though in fact no such services were provided.  

Of the total paid by NewSat, some $320,000 was transferred to Cresta Motor Yachts, a company on which Ballintine was a director and in which he held 73 percent of the shares. 

In February, Ballentine pleaded guilty to a charge of having contravened section 1308(2) of the Corporations Act and was subsequently fined $15,000.  

He has also been disqualified from managing a corporation for five years.