Ray Williams, the former Chief Executive Officer of HIH Insurance Limited has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years’ jail with a non-parole period of two years and nine months. Mr Williams was convicted and sentenced on three criminal charges arising from his management of the HIH group of companies in the three-year period 1998 to 2000. He was sentenced in relation to offences concerning three substantial transactions, which significantly distorted the true financial position of HIH. These matters involved hundreds of millions of dollars and Mr Williams’ criminal conduct occurred over an extensive period. Mr William’s sentencing on the three criminal charges follows ASIC’s successful civil penalty proceedings, which commenced in 2001, that resulted in him being: • banned from acting as a director of any company for 10 years; • ordered to pay compensation jointly with Mr Rodney Adler and Adler Corporation Pty Limited of approximately $7 million; and • ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty of $250,000. ASIC said its investigation into the matters surrounding the collapse of the HIH Insurance group of companies is continuing.
