Capital Guard wound up after $17.4 million investor funds probe

Capital Guard AU Pty Ltd has been ordered into liquidation after the NSW Supreme Court found evidence that the financial services company raised about $17.4 million from investors while acquiring only $100,000 of the corporate bonds it claimed to offer.

Justice Nixon ordered the company wound up on just and equitable grounds on 27 July 2026 and appointed Robert Kirman and Jacinta Nielsen of McGrathNicol as joint and several liquidators. The application was brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and was not opposed by Capital Guard, its sole director and secretary, Mark Tasiyan, or any other interested party.

Capital Guard promoted itself through its website, online advertising, social media and news articles as a regulated financial services provider specialising in the acquisition, custody and administration of corporate bonds. Its financial services guide represented that Capital Guard would hold bonds as legal owner for clients, who would retain the beneficial interest and receive the associated coupon and interest payments.

ASIC’s investigation found evidence that Capital Guard instead purported to sell retail clients bonds that did not exist, were unavailable to retail investors or were not held by the company. The examples before the Court included a fake Macquarie Group bond, inaccurately described Liberty Funding securities and purported Judo Bank and Peppers Residential Securities Trust investments for which ASIC could identify no corresponding acquisitions.

ASIC’s forensic analysis found that Capital Guard received approximately $17.414 million into accounts opened from April 2025, with only about $110,000 remaining by the time of the winding-up application. Approximately $9 million appeared to have been transferred to crypto-asset platforms, while currency exchange transactions produced net outflows of around $4.1 million. A further $2.2 million was returned to clients as purported interest, dividends or principal repayments.

The regulator identified only two corporate bond investments, each worth $50,000 and issued by Judo Bank. ASIC said it had not identified any other significant company assets.

The Court also heard that Capital Guard provided its auditor with purported FIIG Securities account statements containing false information about investments in bonds issued by institutions including Liberty Funding, Peppers, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Barclays. Statements obtained directly from FIIG recorded only the two $50,000 Judo Bank holdings.

Justice Nixon found there were strong grounds for a lack of confidence in Capital Guard’s management and a clear risk to the public interest. The evidence indicated that clients had been induced to transfer significant amounts for bonds that either did not exist or were not owned by Capital Guard, while the company’s auditor had been given false records about its holdings.

The Court also found a serious absence of governance. Tasiyan, who was identified in company documents as chief executive and managing director, told ASIC he had essentially no involvement in the business. He said he opened company bank accounts and passed the login details to former director Vassos Dimitrou, had visited the office only once and did not know the value of funds under management, the company’s expenses or whether investor funds had been placed into cryptocurrency.

Capital Guard’s financial position was also uncertain. Its latest financial report recorded a $123,785 loss and net liabilities of $37,186 for the 2025 financial year, while its auditor disclaimed an opinion after being unable to verify investment balances or establish effective contact with the company’s director. Justice Nixon said the company’s true position could be significantly worse than the accounts suggested.

ASIC cancelled Capital Guard’s Australian financial services licence on 29 June after finding serious misconduct, including the promotion of the fake Macquarie bond, the provision of false documents to its auditor and misleading statements on its website. It added the company to the Moneysmart Investor Alert List on 3 July and commenced the winding-up proceeding on 14 July.

Kirman and Nielsen will take control of the company, investigate its affairs and seek to identify, preserve and recover assets for investors and creditors. ASIC’s investigation into Capital Guard and related people and entities remains ongoing.

Read the decision here.