Australia’s securities regulator ASIC has recorded its highest-ever annual enforcement haul, delivering AU$830 million in court-ordered penalties for the 2025-26 financial year while returning AU$644 million to affected consumers. The record total is heavily skewed by a single derivatives enforcement action announced in June 2026.
Collapsed contracts for difference provider Union Standard International Group and its former authorised representatives EuropeFX and TradeFred were hit with a combined AU$300.2 million penalty, representing roughly 36 percent of ASIC’s entire year-end penalty figure. The case involved marketing and issuing CFDs to customers including those in China between 2018 and 2020. Union Standard alone faces AU$156.7 million in penalties, with EuropeFX liable for AU$114.1 million and TradeFred AU$29.4 million.
The penalty surpasses ASIC’s previous single-entity record of AU$250 million against ANZ Bank, finalised in December 2025. ASIC reported AU$349.8 million in penalties during the first half alone, meaning approximately AU$480 million was added in the second half.
FXnCO Insight
CFD enforcement continues to dominate ASIC’s regulatory agenda, signaling heightened compliance risk for derivatives issuers operating in or targeting Australian markets.
Source: Finance Magnates