Re: Colin Gregory Ryan

The case involves Colin Gregory Ryan, who applied for leave to manage a corporation under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) after being disqualified due to a conviction under the Securities Act 1978 (New Zealand). Ryan had a lengthy history of managing companies and had an honest belief in the truth of the statements he was charged with. He sought permission to manage CMI Limited (ACN 050 542 553) and other companies with specific conditions. The court had to determine whether Ryan should be granted leave to manage these corporations given his prior disqualification and the conditions of the application.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether Ryan should be granted leave to manage a corporation, considering his disqualification under section 206B of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). This required the court to weigh Ryan's lengthy experience in managing companies against the statutory disqualification and assess whether the proposed conditions were sufficient to mitigate the risk to the public and creditors. The court also had to consider Ryan's belief in the truth of the statements subject to charges and his otherwise unblemished management record.

The court determined that Ryan's extensive experience and the specific conditions of the application warranted granting leave. The conditions included maintaining a minimum of four directors at CMI, excluding Ryan, and prohibiting CMI from issuing debentures to the public. The court found that these conditions sufficiently safeguarded the interests of creditors and the public. Consequently, the court granted Ryan leave to manage CMI Limited from 15 March 2014, subject to the specified conditions. No order as to costs was made.

The final orders granted Ryan leave to manage CMI Limited under the conditions that there must be at least four directors, excluding Ryan, and CMI must not issue debentures to the public. These orders took effect from 15 March 2014, and any breach of the conditions would result in the automatic cessation of Ryan's leave.