ASIC Bans Bugwash Property Investment Fund Founders

Two directors of a Queensland property investment company have been banned by the Australia Securities and Investments Commission for six years.

David Bugeja [above, on right] and Brian Washbourne [on left] have been banned from providing any financial services or operating a similar business for a six-year period.

The two established Bugwash Property in November 2015 with the intent to provide residential property investment opportunities, ASIC said.

Investors were meant to pool funds via unit trusts in order to buy and hold residential property for profit.

Unitholders would then receive net rental income and any potential capital gain from selling the properties.

Bugwash Property created and managed 35 unit trusts to acquire property in Queensland between November 2015 and July 2018.

As of June 2021, the total value of the trusts was estimated at $24 million.

ASIC has found that both directors contravened financial services legislation by dealing in financial and general insurance products on another’s behalf without licences or necessary authorisations.

They were also found to have not provided adequate disclosure to investors or acted in their best interests. 

ASIC has determined that Bugeja and Washbourne are not fit and proper to provide financial services, control any entity that operates a financial services business or perform any function in such a business.

It also found that they were likely to contravene a financial services law.

The banning has been recorded on ASIC’s banned and disqualified register.

Bugeja and Washbourne have the right to appeal for a review of the decision.

Such an appeal would need to be lodged with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Most of the properties have since been sold with proceeds distributed to the unit holders, ASIC said.