James Mawhinney arrested and charged following ASIC criminal investigation

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The Australian Security & Investments Commission announced on Tuesday that James Mawhinney, the high-profile fund manager behind failed plans to redevelop Queensland's Dunk Island and Mission Beach, was arrested on four counts of dishonesty.

It is alleged that on four occasions between 9 August 2019 and 21 April 2020, Mr Mawhinney dishonestly misrepresented to the trustee of the IPO Wealth Fund, that the IPO Wealth Group owned two Italian companies, Poveglia S.R.L. and Retta S.R.L, when it did not.

The maximum penalty for each charge of dishonest conduct is 15 years imprisonment.

Following an appearance at the Melbourne Magistrates Court, Mr Mawhinney was granted conditional bail including that he be required to remain in Australia.

This matter is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions after a referral from ASIC.

Mr Mawhinney will next appear before the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court on 28 June 2024.

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Mawhinney was first penalised by the federal court for misleading and deceptive behaviour with a $30 million fine and a 20-year ban on offering financial products. The court has heard that investors, which included Pauline Hanson's One Nation political party, retirees who were pitched the products as term deposit substitutes, and a former Nationals MP, stood to lose a total of $211 million that had been raised by Mawhinney-run businesses since 2016. In 2022, Mawhinney successfully appealed his sanctions on the grounds that he had not been treated fairly during the proceedings, and the federal court granted him a new trial. On Monday, those procedures got underway.

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