Australia’s securities regulator has appealed the Finder Wallet case

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has filed an appeal against Finder Wallet, a sister company of Australian fintech firm Finder.com, that was found to be in breach of federal Australian financial rules. Court last month.

ASIC has previously argued that Finder Wallet operates a product without proper licenses or permits. But Federal Court judge Brigitte Markovic dismissed the case on March 14, saying ASIC could not prove that Finder Wallet's Earn product was a “liability” – a loan security in which companies promise to repay borrowed money with interest – under the Corporations Act.

In an April 10 filing, ASIC argued that Markovic was “erroneous” in this finding because there is no deposit or loan to Finder Wallet when an investor uses the Finder Earn product.

Additionally, the securities regulator argued, “there was no action to pay money as a debt by Finder Wallet.”

In a separate statement on April 10, ASIC said: “ASIC is appealing this decision because it is concerned that the Finder Contact Us product is being offered without the appropriate license or authorization and therefore without the benefit of important consumer protections.”

The full Federal Court will hear the appeal on the day it is announced. The court hears appeals from the federal court in cases of “sufficient importance”. It is the second highest court to the High Court of Australia.

A Finder spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company is “disappointed” by ASIC's decision not to accept the federal court's ruling, but is prepared to vigorously defend its entire product in federal court.

In the year Offered between February and November 2022, users of the Finder Earn product can convert Australian dollars into TrueAUD (TAUD) – a stable coin pegged to the Australian dollar – that can be transferred to Finder Wallet for a 4-6 percent yield. .

ASIC sued Finder Wallet in December 2022 for being an unlicensed financial product.

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ASIC also informed the company that Finder Wallet had “sunset” the product a month ago. However, a spokesperson told Cointelegraph at the time that it was a “strategic business decision” due to the rise in interest rates and “not subject to regulatory review”.

Last month, a Finder spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company has no intention of relaunching Find Find despite the court victory.

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