Superheroes or Crooks- My column 27 September 2011

In the pantheon of CLICO superheroes, one man inevitably stands out, but CLICO's Superman did not act alone. Any examination of his heroics must unmask and punish his helpers. His trinity was complete with Wonder Woman, corporate secretary extraordinaire and Spiderman, the political party treasurer whose webs pulled remarkable deals together.
The missing comic book characters are the quack pack of regulators anaesthetised as hard assets exchanged places with runny IOU's. Followers of Sir Anthony Colman's Commission of Enquiry salivate as superheroes and villains are indistinguishable. But unless it unmasks public officials this enquiry is for entertainment purposes only. It is juicy but losing a lifetime of savings is no laughing matter.
The serious fact is that much of Superman's ventures were kept behind the closed doors of privately-held companies. In normal circumstances owners of private companies are entitled to run their companies as they see fit, including into the ground. All the law requires of most of these companies is that the annual returns are filed and that statutory payments are remitted as appropriate.