Federal Court finds individual in contempt for breaching orders to stop unauthorised banking business

The Federal Court has found an individual in contempt of court for failing to comply with orders made against him following legal action by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

APRA sought an injunction in July last year to stop Andrew Morton Garrett from carrying on unauthorised banking business. Mr Garrett’s purported businesses include Dynamic Capital Bank, Banque de Capital Dynamique, and Banca di Como.

On 14 August 2023, the court made orders with immediate effect permanently restraining Mr Garrett from carrying on a banking business or using the word “bank”.

APRA filed proceedings for contempt on 21 September 2023 alleging Mr Garrett breached these orders by continuing to operate and market these businesses in Australia that he describes as banks, despite not being authorised to carry on a banking business.

In his judgment, handed down on 3 May 2024, Justice Lee backed APRA’s application by finding Mr Garrett in contempt of court. The court also ordered Mr Garett to pay a fine of $10,000 to be suspended for 18 months, conditional on compliance with the orders.  

This latest legal action underlines APRA’s determination to protect Australians from mistakenly believing they are depositing money with an APRA-regulated institution and receiving the same protection.

If people are unsure whether a financial institution is a bank, they can check the register of all APRA-regulated authorised deposit-taking institutions at: Register of authorised deposit-taking institutions or contact APRA at info@apra.gov.au.