The embattled boss of collapsed financial group First Guardian has been spotted strolling on Phillip Island – while thousands of everyday investors face financial ruin after losing their nest eggs.
The First Guardian Master Fund is now in liquidation, leaving 6,000 retirement savers owed a staggering $590 million.
David Anderson, 46, was a director of the fund and its parent company, Falcon Capital Limited.
He is accused by ASIC of siphoning $5.6 million into his personal ANZ account ‘without any legitimate basis for payments in that amount being apparent to ASIC or disclosed to investors.’
The Melbourne-born company director is also accused of moving $274 million overseas after learning of ASIC’s investigation into financial irregularities.
In late August, Anderson was photographed in Ventnor, a quiet coastal town on the western edge of Phillip Island.
Wearing a bulky black puffer jacket and dark sunglasses, he walked casually along a back road, far removed from the corporate offices he once ran.
He appeared relaxed, despite the financial scandal engulfing him, which has left thousands of Australians out of pocket.
As anxious Australians wonder whether they will ever see their retirement savings again, Anderson allegedly lives a life of luxury in a waterfront home with a pool, a landscaped garden cascading down to the river, and an interior with spotted gum hardwood floors and a sculptured staircase.
David Anderson (pictured left) was photographed on August 28 August while walking along a quiet road in Ventnor on Phillip Island.
Pictured is the $9million mansion owned by director David Anderson
Before the fund’s collapse, he splashed out on a $9million Yarra River mansion in the wealthy Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn in 2020.
And the alleged lavish spending, investigators claim, wasn’t limited to Anderson alone.
Fellow director Simon Selimaj, 63, had a $548,000 Lamborghini Urus registered in his name.
‘The vehicle was purchased in January 2023 by the company for $548,000 including on-road costs and was funded via a bank account controlled by the company,’ the creditors’ report said.
The Lamborghini, which the liquidators have since seized, is estimated to now be worth $350,000 to $400,000, with Slattery Auctions taking possession of it.
Meanwhile, liquidators FTI Consulting said the fund has admitted it cannot repay all investors, with millions still estimated to be owed.
Investigators allege investors’ nest eggs were funnelled into dubious ventures, including $242 million sent overseas.
The collapse has devastated 6,000 everyday Aussies like Canberra couple Simon and Annette Luck, who lost $340,000, almost all their retirement savings, due to bad advice from a financial planner.
They had been planning a trip to the Netherlands and the UK to visit family. Now, they may need to sell their home and live in a caravan just to get by.
Retirement funds from the fund were allegedly spent on a $548,000 Lamborghini Urus, which was registered to director Simon Selimaj, 63
Liquidators of the First Guardian Master Fund have acknowledged they would struggle to pay everyone back, despite director David Anderson (pictured), 46, owning a $9million Melbourne mansion
The collapse of the First Guardian Master Fund could see a major overhaul of the government-run financial compensation scheme so fewer victims miss out (pictured is Canberra couple Simon and Annette Luck who lost $340,000)
‘Disheartened, dismayed and downright disappointed and let down,’ Annette Luck told Daily Mail Australia.
The First Guardian Master Fund was placed into liquidation in March after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission obtained a Federal Court order to freeze its assets.
The liquidators, FTI Consulting, have now revealed that $446 million could conservatively be owed to retirement savers, after their superannuation was invested in dubious ventures, including $242 million sent overseas.
‘The liquidators have preliminarily estimated that claims by unitholders on a cash invested basis that have not been redeemed approximate $446 million,’ they said.
‘Significant monies have been invested (or sent) offshore in foreign jurisdictions.
‘Much has been invested in technology ventures, none of which appear to have yet been commercialised and are thus not generating an income.’
