PEOPLE involved in Storm Financial's collapse, including the founder, Emmanuel Cassimatis, may face further action over the collapse of the financial planning group, legal manoeuvring at a parliamentary committee hearing suggested last week.
At a Brisbane hearing on Thursday, Mr Cassimatis told the committee he had gathered documents and asked for permission to table them.
He said the documents would explain his argument about why margin calls were never made to many Storm clients, which has become a central point in the inquiry into the collapse.
But the inquiry chairman, Bernie Ripoll, said he would have to see the documents first.
"We're not going to accept the documents without knowing what they are," he said.
Mr Ripoll later returned the documents, stating: "The committee generally prefers not to accept documents that may be used in another forum in terms of any other proceedings and, having had a look at those documents, I'm not prepared to accept them."
Tabling documents before a parliamentary committee means they gain the protection of parliamentary privilege. If documents gain parliamentary privilege it becomes harder for law enforcement agencies such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to use them in a brief of evidence.
The prickly nature and careful arrangements surrounding Mr Cassimatis's appearance were revealed when his lawyer, Stephen Russell, attempted to offer assistance to the committee.
Mr Ripoll told Mr Russell the committee did not want or need his assistance.
''You're not allowed to speak, so be quiet,'' Senator John Williams said.
Mr Cassimatis has blamed Commonwealth Bank's margin lender, Colonial Geared Investments (CGI), for providing "scrambled" data when markets fell last year, making it impossible for Storm Financial to issue margin calls.
But Commonwealth Bank has argued Storm was responsible for contacting CGI's margin loan customers, and in a hearing on Friday said the data provided to Storm was "substantially" or "mostly" correct.
Late margin calls were disastrous for 4000 Storm Financial clients with margin loans, who found their collateral either wiped out or, in about 400 cases, ended up in "negative equity" - owing the bank more money.
ASIC has said it is investigating all players involved in Storm Financial's collapse.
