The Australian – Trio Capital chief executive Rex Phillpott — a former assistant commissioner at the Australian Taxation Office — has agreed to a 15-year ban from acting as a director or working in any role in the financial services industry. Albury-based Trio was the responsible entity for 25 managed investment funds, including Astarra Strategic. It reportedly had assets of $125 million in December 2009, but in April last year the NSW Supreme Court ordered that it be wound up.
Much of the money appears to have been invested in Caribbean hedge funds and other unsuitable asset categories offshore, leaving thousands of superannuants significantly out of pocket. The liquidator of Trio Capital has reportedly been unable to recover most of the money invested in the fund.
