Peter Collins, the former PwC partner infamously embroiled in the Pricewaterhouse Coopers’ tax leak debacle, has sustained a grievous hit to his standing. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has barred him from any form of financial services until somewhere in the 2030s.
The Commission, in a formal announcement released on Friday, pronounced an eight-year ban on Collins. For the duration of the proscription, the ex-PwC executive will be unable to offer financial solutions, control an entity operating in the financial sector, or participate in the operation of any such organization.
Collins’ censure is irrevocably recorded on ASIC’s Online Portal of the banned and disqualified, where the names of all individuals ever flagged for corporate misconduct are listed.
The once-respected taxation partner at PwC caused chaos within the company after exposing classified government data to associates and clientele to facilitate their tax evasion.
The ASIC report indicated that Mr Collins had disclosed confidential information that he had access to in his professional capacity advising the Commonwealth Treasury and the Australian Board of Taxation.
True to form, ASIC deemed Mr. Collins unfit to offer financial services, concluding that the public’s interest justified his removal from the finance industry.
PwC, rocked by the aftershocks of the controversy, relieved nine partners of their duties in May. Collins, a resident of Victoria, served as a representative for PwC from March 1, 2004, to July 14, 2006, and then once again from December 9, 2013, to October 6, 2022.
While the ruling is ironclad, the door isn’t entirely shut for Mr. Collins. He retains the legal right to appeal ASIC’s decision at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
