Former TZ Limited director Andrew Sigalla found guilty of dishonest conduct

Andrew John Sigalla, a former director of smart locking vendor TZ Limited, has been found guilty of 24 counts of dishonest conduct following a 22-day trial in the Supreme Court of New South Wales

Sigalla was found to have transferred $8.7 million in company funds to himself and related entities, using a large amount of the money to pay debts with bookmaker Tom Waterhouse and to make mortgage payments on behalf of his personal companies.

He had been employed as the ASX-listed company's chairman, director and chief executive. The offences occurred between December 2006 and March 2009.

One of the counts refers to a $500,000 tranfer of TZ's shares to a company based in Hong Kong.

Sigalla's sentence is scheduled for 3 February 2017. Bail has been revoked by the court.

He faces up to five years imprisonment or a fine of $220,000 for each count.

ASIC commissioner John Price said: "This verdict sends an important signal to all companies that the performance and behaviour of a director in carrying out their duties must be beyond reproach. They are in a position of critical responsibility and must act in the best interests of the company."

Charges against Sigalla were triggered by an investigation performed by ASIC in 2009. 

In May 2013, Sigalla was arrested after ASIC alleged he'd made 16 payments totalling $6.1 million from TZ accounts to pay for his own debts. He was then released on bail. Later in 2013 Sigalla was charged with another eight accounts.