The law firm is disappointed at the implication that it was involved in misleading ASIC
Clayton Utz is standing by the report it authored after its investigation into the fee-for-no-service issue at beleaguered wealth manager AMP.
“It is disappointing that it has been misreported that Clayton Utz was in some way involved in misleading ASIC. That is simply not true. As AMP states, the report is an uncompromisingly direct and comprehensive 87-page review of the conduct of the advice business that could have only been of assistance to ASIC in its investigation, and to counsel assisting in preparing cross-examination,” said Rob Cutler, Clayton Utz chief executive partner.
"The report we prepared was for the AMP board and was the result of an extensive investigation which in fact identified much of the conduct referred to by the commission. At no stage were the findings compromised by AMP or any other person,” Cutler said. “The investigation was undertaken according to the terms of reference set by AMP. This included that it was to be independent of the advice business and for the purpose of providing legal advice to the AMP board. The report was not prepared for, commissioned by, or addressed to, ASIC, and we did not provide it to them.”
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In a statement this morning, AMP vehemently denied allegations made at the Royal Commission by senior counsel assisting, Rowena Orr QC, that the firm is open to being charged with a criminal offense over the Clayton Utz report that it provided to the ASIC.
Last week, Orr recommended finding AMP in breach of the Corporations Act for presenting the Clayton Utz report to the ASIC as independent.
The AMP board commissioned the investigation on 5 June 2017. It included interviews with 27 current and former employees, as well as a review of pertinent documents. The commission heard last month from counsel assisting, Michael Hodge QC, that the report went through 25 drafts and was the subject of extensive email exchanges between AMP and Clayton Utz.
AMP said that the report is “an uncompromisingly direct 87-page review” of its advice business’s conduct related to the fee-for-no-service matters. The company said that the report was “an important and powerful catalyst for the actions AMP has taken and is taking” to address the challenges in its advice business.