Former Australian World Cup-winning captain Michael Clarke backed cryptocurrency startup has shut down after queries from the corporate regulator. It had a plan to raise around $50 million from the public, which has been ended now.
On the company’s website, it stated, “Global Tech Exchange’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO) has now ceased in accordance with ASIC requirements. As a result of this Global Tech has issued full refunds to all investors.”
It was started in 2017 by the co-founders Andrew Mclean and Marlon Donaire to create an “education-based trading and exchange platform.” But the documents lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) showed that the company applied to be deregistered last week, while only just five months ago the company was registered.
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That document has also confirmed that the business is no longer and the value of the company’s assets is less than $1000. The document also claimed that Donaire resigned from the company in last month.
The company’s website further claimed that the former Aussie skipper Michael Clarke is no longer associated with the company.
It stated, “We would also like to inform you that Michael Clarke is no longer associated with Global Tech Exchange and the Global Tech Exchange Blockchain education and awareness program.”
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It drew ASIC’s attention after Clarke involved in the endorsement of the company, for which he faced some backlashes. ASIC confirmed to Fairfax Media that the company has no financial services licence while they had a plan to raising money from the public.
In the last month, ASIC reported that the company had prevented five ICOs since this April.
ASIC Commissioner John Price said, “If you raise money from the public, you have important legal obligations. It is the legal substance of your offer – not what it is called – that matters. You should not simply assume that using an ICO structure allows you to ignore key protections there for the investing public and you should always ensure disclosure about your offer is complete and accurate.
“Global Tech would like to inform you that it wishes to comply with all of ASIC’s requirements and requests, to the best of its ability.”
