Full Federal Court Upholds $11M in ASIC Penalties Against iSignthis and Former CEO Karantzis

The Full Federal Court has largely dismissed appeals by iSignthis Ltd, now Southern Cross Payments Ltd, and its former director and chief executive officer Nickolas John Karantzis, upholding the key liability, penalty and disqualification outcomes sought by ASIC, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

The court upheld orders made by Justice McEvoy requiring iSignthis to pay a $10 million penalty for breaching disclosure laws. Karantzis was disqualified from managing corporations for six years and ordered to pay a $1 million penalty.

The Full Court allowed the appeal on a limited aspect concerning the terms of one declaration made against Karantzis in the liability judgment and ordered that the declaration be amended. Justices Stewart, Cheeseman and Neskovcin held that the correction could have been raised before the primary judge and did not alter any substantive liability or penalty outcome.

In upholding the penalty against iSignthis, the Full Court said the relevant harm included harm to the integrity and proper operation of the market and was not confined to demonstrated financial loss suffered by an identified shareholder.

ASIC Chair Sarah Court said investors are entitled to trust what listed companies tell the market and that accurate and timely disclosure goes to the heart of market integrity. She said the decision reinforces that companies and directors will be held to account when they fail to meet those obligations.

The Full Court ordered iSignthis and Karantzis to pay ASIC's appeal costs.

ASIC commenced civil penalty proceedings against iSignthis and Karantzis, its managing director and chief executive officer, in the Federal Court on 7 December 2020. iSignthis Limited changed its name to Southern Cross Payments Ltd on 11 May 2022, and the company was delisted from the ASX on 4 November 2022.

On 21 June 2024, the Federal Court found iSignthis Ltd engaged in a number of contraventions of the law between 2018 and 2020. On 8 August 2025, the court ordered the $10 million penalty for breaching disclosure laws and imposed the six-year disqualification and $1 million penalty on Karantzis for breaching his director's duties and failing to ensure information given to the ASX was not false or misleading. iSignthis and Karantzis lodged an appeal over the liability and penalty decisions on 5 September 2025.