Spice Capital and its Founder Colin Oxlade Faces Regulatory Action for Unlicensed Financial Activities

On December 9, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced that it would seek a prohibition order from the Federal Court to ban Spice Capital Partners Pty Ltd and its founder and CEO, Colin Oxlade, from conducting unlicensed financial services activities.

ASIC stated that Spice Capital and Oxlade provided financial services without authorization and offered unlicensed financial product advice to investors and potential investors.

The regulator noted that between February and July last year, Spice Capital and Oxlade raised at least $1.45 million from investors under the guise of gold salvage operations from shipwrecks in the Solomon Islands and the refining of high-value mineral sands located on Queensland.

Additionally, in June, ASIC disqualified David Catsoulis from serving as a director, who was a director at Warwick Gold Holding Pty Ltd and Impact Gold Ltd. Before entering liquidation in 2024, the two firms raised at least $44 million from more than 400 investors. Oxlade is also alleged to have participated in fundraising activities for these entities.

Notably, in 2017, ASIC banned Oxlade from managing companies for four years. The regulator found that he had served as a director of multiple failed businesses over a period of at least 12 years. These included Ox Marketing Pty Ltd, Vanilla Group, and Africa Uranium, all of which owed substantial amounts to creditors. Oxlade’s mismanagement was deemed a significant contributing factor to their failures.

BrokersView reminds you

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the national regulatory body overseeing local companies, markets, and financial services. Brokers operating in the country or providing financial services must hold an Australian Financial Services (AFS) license issued by ASIC.