A minority shareholder in ANIT Australia Pty Ltd, which operates as the Albright Institute of Business and Language, has won a $3.6 million payout after a Victorian court rejected claims by the company’s majority owners that their stake was worthless. The ruling, handed down on October 9, 2026, found that the majority owners had manipulated financial records to depress profits and misled the court.
The case, In Re ANIT Australia Pty Ltd (No 2) [2026] VSC 660, stems from a 2024 finding that the majority shareholders had acted oppressively under section 232(e) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
The minority shareholder sought $5.07 million, while the majority owners argued the stake was valueless. A court-appointed expert initially valued it at $1.76 million if disputed expenses were fraudulent-or $0 if they were genuine. The court placed minimal weight on the fact that the company’s accounts were audited, noting that an auditor is ordinarily entitled to rely on management and that the majority owners “fabricated financial records whenever it suited their purposes.”
A subpoena revealed one key fraud: the majority owners had submitted 16 fake invoices totaling $270,710 to justify cash payments. The actual invoices from the same provider amounted to just $11,567.40, and none were addressed to the company. The court called the conduct “disgraceful.”
The majority owners had also made 659 unexplained cash withdrawals totaling $3.84 million, with $3.49 million unaccounted for. The court ruled that most of this money should have remained in the company’s accounts and restored it to the financial records. It also slashed inflated cleaning and agent fees, as well as $497,426 paid to a firm linked to one of the majority owners—labeling these payments as another way to “siphon off” funds.
After adjusting for these irregularities, the court valued the stake at $2.96 million. The court then added a $627,931 allowance for dividends that the minority shareholder would have received over three financial years had the inflated expenses not suppressed profits. The final price: $3.59 million. Under the 2024 orders, the company faces winding up if the majority owners fail to pay, and the court will hear the parties on costs.
