ASIC found the husband and wife owners of the three businesses had improperly acted or failed to meet their obligations as company officers. Image: ASIC.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has disqualified two Riverina business owners from managing corporations for the maximum period of five years.
The husband-and-wife directors Jimmy Yang (also known as Jimmy Liu) and Freda Feng were the directors of three failed companies in the agriculture sector; United World Enterprises (UWE) Hay Pty Ltd ACN 600 930 881, UWE ACN 060 242 515 ACN 060 242 515 and Griffith Property Pty Ltd ACN 600 931 833.
ASIC says Mr Yang was a director of these companies between 2004 and 2025, while Ms Feng was a director between 2004 and 2023, while Mr Yang was also a director of the business and personal services company SMU Holdings Pty Ltd (ACN 604 111 622) between 2004 and 2025.
ASIC says Section 206F of the Corporations Act allows it to disqualify a person from managing corporations for a maximum period of five years if, within a seven-year period, the person was an officer of two or more companies and those companies were wound up and a liquidator provides a report to ASIC about each of the company’s inability to pay its debts.
As far back as June 2018, then Premier Gladys Berejiklian was warned by former Albury MP Greg Aplin that disgraced former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire – who was a sitting MP and her partner at the time – had links to Mr Yang and Ms Feng who had been accused of owing more than $150,000 to two of his constituents. Mr Yang subsequently placed UWE Hay into voluntary administration, only to rebirth the company days later as Riverina Hay.
Complaints to ASIC of the tactic – known as Phoenixing – were initially met with no action by ASIC, although Mr Maguire was subsequently referred to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) for connections to other businesses. ICAC later recommended charges of conspiracy and of giving false and misleading evidence be filed against Mr Maguire for this and another case in Sydney, for which he was subsequently convicted.
ASIC subsequently found that Mr Yang and Ms Feng had each failed to act properly and meet their obligations as company officers, including when Mr Feng improperly used UWE Hay’s funds and his position as a director of UWE Hay to offer incentives to Mr Maguire.
ASIC also found that the accused had:
- Failed to ensure UWE Hay, United World Enterprises, Griffth and SMU Holdings complied with their statutory obligations to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
- Failed to maintain and keep adequate books and records for UWE Hay and United World Enterprises
- Improperly used their position to withdraw company funds from UWE Hay’s bank accounts without explanation for the use of the funds
- Improperly used their positions by permitting loans to be made from UWE Hay and United World Enterprises to other entities
- Improperly used their positions to allow United World Enterprises to enter into an agreement to sponsor a work visa in exchange for United World Enterprises receiving a financial loan
- Improperly used their positions to sell a vehicle owned by United World Enterprises and use the proceeds to purchase a new vehicle for UWE Hay
- Failed to prevent UWE Hay and United World Enterprises from insolvent trading.
ASIC says that, at the time of its decision, the four companies owed a combined total of more than $57 million to unsecured creditors, including nearly $111,000 to the ATO, $6501 for employee entitlements, $2230 for workers compensation, as well as significant debts owed to small businesses in the agricultural industry.
The disqualification comes after supplementary reports lodged by liquidator Jamieson Louttit of JLA Insolvency and Advisory and Liam Bailey of O’Brien Palmer.
ASIC maintains a banned and disqualified persons register that provides information about people who have been disqualified from involvement in the management of a corporation, auditing self-managed superannuation funds, or practising in the financial services or credit industry.
