Ray Williams (businessman)
| Raymond Reginald Williams | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1937 (age 86–87) |
| Occupation | former Company director, HIH Insurance |
| Criminal penalty | four years six months imprisonment |
| Spouse(s) | Rita Williams |
Raymond Reginald Williams (born 1937) is an Australian businessman and corporate criminal. In 2005 he was imprisoned for a minimum of two years and nine months for filing false financial statements and failing his duty as a director.[1] After Williams' criminal conviction, charities began removing his name from their donor plaques,[2] and he was stripped of his Order of Australia medal by order of the Governor-General.[3][4]
HIH collapse
Williams founded the HIH Insurance company, which collapsed in 2001 with debts of more than A$5 billion. On 15 April 2005, he was jailed for 4 years 6 months with a non-parole period of 2 years 9 months, after pleading guilty to misleading shareholders about the financial position of HIH. Williams was also banned from leading an Australian corporation for ten years.[5]
Chief Justice Wood found in his judgement during the 2005 Royal Commission that Williams did not seek nor gain any financial advantage for his business mistakes nor was his criminal negligence the result of any deliberate deception.[6]
Assets
In the years prior to the HIH collapse, Willams transferred millions of dollars into his wife's name, which was used to purchase a luxury mansion and other property, assets and investments. The demise of HIH Insurance was Australia's biggest corporate collapse, and was the subject of a Royal Commission which led to the charges against Williams and his associates.[5] However, Williams was declared bankrupt in 2007 after losing everything due to the collapse.[7]
Release from jail
On 14 January 2008, with media helicopters circling overhead, Williams was released on parole from Silverwater Correctional Centre. Newspapers reported Williams was looking forward to retiring in the Sydney suburb of Seaforth, where his wife, Rita owns a luxury home.[8]
See also
References
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External links
- HIH file from the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC)
- Articles with dead external links from October 2010
- Use dmy dates from May 2011
- Use Australian English from May 2011
- All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- Australian fraudsters
- Businesspeople from Sydney
- Former Officers of the Order of Australia
- People from Sydney
- 1937 births
- Living people
- Place of birth missing (living people)
