On 3 March 2021, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal delivered its decision in relation to the appeal against conviction and sentence lodged by former TZ Limited director Andrew Sigalla.
The Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed the appeal against conviction but allowed the appeal against sentence, with Mr Sigalla's sentence being reduced to a term of imprisonment of nine years and six months with a non-parole period of five years and nine months.
On 22 November 2016 Mr Sigalla was convicted of 24 counts of dishonestly using his position as a director of TZ Limited with the intention of directly or indirectly gaining an advantage for himself or a third party, contrary to s 184(2)(a) of the Corporations Act (16-402MR).
Mr Sigalla had previously been sentenced to an effective total term of imprisonment of 10 years, with a non-parole period of six years (19-027MR). As a result of the Court's decision, his term of imprisonment and non-parole period have been reduced by six months and three months respectively.
The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Background
The offences in this matter related to transfers of funds from the accounts of TZ Limited between December 2006 and March 2009, including one instance in which a transfer of TZ Limited shares worth approximately $500,000 was transferred to a company based in Hong Kong.
The funds transferred to Mr Sigalla's accounts were largely used to reduce his debt with bookmaker Tom Waterhouse or to make mortgage payments on behalf of one of his personal companies (13-108MR; 14-311MR).
Mr Sigalla appealed his conviction and sentence on 18 November 2019.
