VentureCrowd Holdings, an alternative investment company founded by former PwC partner Steven Maarbani, is facing ruin with administrators uncovering alleged insolvent trading and significant debts totaling an estimated $18.42 million. The company, which operated various investment platforms including residential property developments and sidecar funds, entered administration in April.
An administrator's report compiled by Cor Cordis paints a grim financial picture, suggesting the company has been insolvent since at least February 2025. Directors Maarbani and Darren Tasker are accused of potentially breaching their duties by continuing to trade while the company was unable to pay its debts. The report does not allege dishonesty or criminal liability but points to potential civil liability for the directors.
At the time administrators were appointed, VentureCrowd Holdings had a mere $541 in its bank account, despite having raised millions of dollars. The report found that realisable assets were estimated to be between $0 and $83,266, with creditors expected to receive no dividends.
Administrators noted that money had been moved through at least 15 different entities within the group, and balance sheets did not reconcile. Approximately $652,000 was spent on consulting fees over two years, with the report suggesting these fees may relate to a consulting business operated by one of the directors.
Tasker, who reportedly graduated from Harvard Business School, and Maarbani are also being investigated for potential breaches of their duty to act in good faith and exercise reasonable care and diligence.
Creditors, many of whom are self-managed superannuation funds, were initially owed $12 million, a figure that has since ballooned to $18.42 million. The report also refers to a volume of investors seeking compensation for alleged discrepancies between investment materials and the outcomes of their investments, with some investors claiming their funds were used in more projects than initially disclosed.
The directors had proposed a deed of company arrangement, a rescue plan that would have seen creditors receive 39 cents for every dollar invested. However, this plan was recently quashed in the Federal Court before a creditors' meeting could be held. Administrators deemed the deed "deficient" and warned it could extinguish creditors' legal rights, including claims for misrepresentation.
Administrators also flagged that in a liquidation scenario, Maarbani and Tasker could face claims for civil compensation. Their estimated personal assets are $500,000 for Maarbani and $2.8 million for Tasker, though the report notes such claims can be difficult and costly to prove.