BULAW 5911 Course: Case Study 1, Financial Sector Misconduct

This assignment presents four case studies addressing various issues within the business and financial sectors. The first case examines the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation, and Financial Services Industry, analyzing its findings on major banks' behaviors and the market's reaction. The second case delves into wage fraud allegations against 7-Eleven franchisees in Australia and the subsequent government investigations. The third case study focuses on the VW emissions scandal, examining the company's fraudulent practices and the environmental and health impacts. Lastly, the assignment explores the Australian Wheat Board (AWB) bribery allegations and the resulting Coles Commission scrutiny, highlighting the consequences of poor governance and unethical decision-making. The assignment aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issues, rules, applications, and conclusions of each case study, offering insights into legal and ethical principles within the business environment.

Running head: Case Studies 1
Case Studies
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Running head: Case Studies 2
Case study 1: Misconduct in the Financial Sector
Issue
In December 2017, there was rampant financial misconduct in the industry of
banking, financial and superannuation services.
Rule/Principle
A Royal Commission was appointed under the leadership of Commissioner Kenneth
Hayes so that he can look into this misconduct.
Analysis
The Commission looked at the behaviour of major banks as well as other related
organizations in order to check the nature of their financial dealings and transactions. This
entailed hearing of testimonies from several witnesses by the Commission.
Conclusion
The final report by the Commission was considered to be shallow and many
stakeholders, including the stock market were disappointed by it as it would result into
rebounding of the bank stocks in price as well as trading days’ demands following the date
that the report was released.
Case Study 2: Contract
Issue
An investigation concerning wage fraud in the Australian operations of the 7-eleven
franchisees was conducted by Fairfax Media in 2015 where it claimed many of the visa
holders and casual workers were receiving payment of award wages below the recommended

Running head: Case Studies 3
standards, were being underpaid altogether and the working hours were long with poor or no
pay for the extra hours.
Rule/Principle
The Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade conducted its
investigation where it reported the Australian government’s establishment of a taskforce for
migrant workers in the year 2016 as well as its sponsorship of the Fair Work Amendment Act
of 2017.
Application
The Joint Standing Committee was established so that to investigate on the claims of
vulnerability of the Australian visa holders. This came as a result of 7 eleven hiring Fels, who
was initially the ACCC, as a designer of the compensation scheme but he ended up assuming
the control over the scheme. This behaviour was later adopted by other companies such as
Caltex, Pizza Hut, supermarkets, among others.
Conclusion
The investigation was not successful because other subsequent insights into the issue
saw perpetual exploitation and non-compliance with relation to the same issue.
Case Study 3: VW Emissions Scandal
Issue
Harmful emissions from diesel-powered vehicles as designed by their manufacturers
as well as the effect these emissions have on the environment as well as the impact on climate
change.

Running head: Case Studies 4
Rule/Principle
The Environmental Protection Agency of the United States accused VW publicly in
2015 that it had cheated on the test for emissions from the diesel cars.
Application
The accusation by the agency led VW to admit after 4 days that it had installed in 11
million of its vehicles defeat devices. This led to the resignation of the VW CEO who had
denied having been aware of such fraud. This led to scrutiny into other companies in the
same industry for a further crack down to such fraudulent conduct. Heavy fines and
compensation were charged against VW and subsequent companies found guilty.
Conclusion
Other than the heavy financial losses, there also concerns the environmental and
health impact introduced by the vehicle pollution. Tougher tests for such vehicles were
introduced by the EU and a declaration was made by the UK and France which indicated
their intention of eliminating diesel car sale by the 2040.
Case Study 4: Australian Wheat Board (AWB)
Issue
The issue was the bribery allegations against the AWB in the conduct of its business.
Rule/Principle
The Coles Commission scrutinised the bribery allegations by the AWB which were
later proven in the court.
Application

Running head: Case Studies 5
The AWB had paid bribes to the government of Iraqi through inflated fees to a
trucking company in Jordan known as Alia with the purpose of protecting its lucrative
contracts for supply of wheat in the UN under the agreement of food-for-oil. It is due to the
allegations which prompted the Coles Commission to conduct scrutiny into the matter.
Conclusion
The AWB scandal acts as a reminder of how poor decision-making, weak governance,
widespread greed and misplaced priorities result to widely felt ramifications and
consequences for organizations and a wide range of stakeholders. It also shows the
importance of interaction between the organisations and the wider community, opinion
leaders, investors and the markets.