Exclusive: An Australian citizen who has lived overseas for almost 20 years has issued a warning to other expats: check your dormant superannuation fund now.
Cameron Smith, 53, now lives in Basel, Switzerland, but decided to consolidate his super accounts for money earned back home in Victoria between 1989 and 2007.
Cameron Smith has not lived in Australia for nearly 18 years. Cameron Smith
His nest egg was not skyrocketing in value, though it had been steadily accumulating money, reaching around $180,000 by 2018.
“I couldn’t withdraw all of it and put it into my Swiss AXA pension or my St James’s UK pension, it’s basically stuck there until retirement,” Smith told nine.com.au.
“I think there were 13 different places they found superannuation sort of quietly, dribbling away.”
Smith said he was offered YourChoiceSuper, operated under Diversa Trustees, as a holding account until he decided on a long-term plan.
Financial advisor Nizi Bhandari was appointed to handle the consolidation.
Bhandari has since been charged with unlicensed advice and dishonesty offences following an investigation and referral from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The case against Bhandari appears to have gone cold after he failed to appear in court.
“This matter was adjourned off in 2023 as there is a warrant out for his arrest,” a Magistrates’ Court of Victoria spokesperson told nine.com.au.
“As such there is no future date scheduled.”
Bhandari’s troubles came as a shock to Smith.
“I paid just over $2000 to consolidate all my superannuation into one fund, under Diversa, and that was the that was the end of the matter,” he said.
“Then I got a Google alert saying that Nizi Bhandari had been struck off.”
Smith did his due diligence and investigated the state of his fund, which he believed had climbed to around $250,0000.
“All of a sudden, it went back to basically half that value,” he recalled.
Smith’s $180,000 super fund dwindled to below $5000 after the collapse of First Guardian. Cameron Smith
“I’m like… ‘What’s going on here?’”
Smith filed a complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) in 2024 and said he was later told by Diversa that his money was safe.
He then learned Ferras Merhi of Venture Egg Financial Services Pty Ltd had been listed as his new financial advisor on his annual statement.
Merhi has been accused by ASIC of engaging in “unconscionable conduct, fail[ing] to act in the best interests of clients, [giving] conflicted advice, and provid[ing] defective statements of advice whilst receiving millions of dollars”.
Merhi is defending the allegations brought by ASIC and said in April that he was confident any court outcome would be in his favour.
Smith then resolved to pull his money out and reinvest it in a “safer” fund.
“I didn’t get the chance to do that because as soon as that complaint finished, then I started getting these emails from FTI Consulting, the liquidator of First Guardian,” Smith recalled.
“Then I found out that all of my money had been invested in First Guardian, but I still didn’t know.”
Smith was confused – he said it was the first time he’d ever heard the name First Guardian.
The investment scheme collapsed into liquidation in April 2025, bringing $446 million from nearly 6000 Australian investors down with it.
Smith’s own superannuation balance had dwindled from $180,547 to just $4106.
A letter sent to Smith from YourChoice Super dated November 2025 indicate that $178,557.45 from First Guardian Diversified Strategies have been “frozen”.
“Those emails could still be sitting in spam,” Smith said.
“I’m wondering why or how this could happen without my knowledge.
“I also wonder how many other people out there have are just completely unaware of what’s happening with their superannuation because it’s been passed around like a pass the parcel.”
A screenshot of Smith’s remaining Australian super balance. Cameron Smith
Smith has lodged another complaint with AFCA against Diversa Trustees Limited, seeking recovery of at least $180,000.
He also lodged a complaint against Financial Services Group Australia Pty Ltd, which is now in liquidation.
He alleged Supafast director Adam Gillett was also appointed without his knowledge when Bhandari was struck off the ASIC register.
“Neither Bhandari nor Gillett had the authority to act on my behalf and I never agreed to a Statement of Advice with either,” Smith claimed.
The licence of Tasmanian accountant Gillett’s business Superfast has since been cancelled by ASIC.
The cancellation is part of an ongoing ASIC investigation but no charges have been laid against Gillett.
Smith has other healthy retirement funds overseas from close to two decades of work in the UK and Switzerland.
But he knows so many Australians have lost everything.
“This is where the government needs to step in and start putting some enforcement around it, and assist those affected, many of whom are approaching or in retirement,” he said.
ASIC is also pursuing civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Diversa Trustees Limited, alleging failures regarding the First Guardian Master Fund.
“Around $300 million was invested into First Guardian from 2020 to 2024 through superannuation funds for which Diversa was trustee,” ASIC said in a statement.
“ASIC alleges Diversa failed to conduct adequate due diligence before allowing its members to invest and failed to conduct adequate ongoing monitoring.”
In a statement, Diversa said it has fully cooperated with ASIC’s investigation and will be “vigorously defending” the claim.
“Diversa appreciates that YourChoice, AusPrac and Praemium members who invested in First Guardian may be experiencing stress, anxiety and feelings of uncertainty in response to the significant financial losses which are expected as the First Guardian liquidation proceeds,” the statement reads.
“Diversa is committed to continuing to support members through this process.”
Diversa describes itself as an independent superannuation trustee responsible for 16 super funds and the retirement savings of more than 350,000 members.
If his AFCA complaint does not resolve the situation, Smith said he will pursue a case with the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR).
The CSLR is designed, as the name suggests, as a “last resort” for consumers seeking compensation once all other options have been exhausted.
Eligible investors could be eligible for a maximum of $150,000 in compensation.
Fears for other Aussie investors living abroad
Investor advocate and fellow complainant Melinda Kee runs the group SOS Save Our Super.
Kee told nine.com.au said is no way of knowing just how many of the nearly 12,000 people impacted by the dual $1.1 billion collapse of First Guardian and Shield Master live overseas.
“We have a handful in our group, but that’s likely just the tip of the iceberg,” Kee explained.
“When Diversa accidentally CC’d more than 400 investors in one email, I noticed some email addresses ended in .it, suggesting people were living in Italy.
“We’ve done our best to reach everyone, but when emails bounce back, it becomes incredibly difficult.
“It’s a real concern that many people still don’t know what’s happened to their retirement savings because they’re living abroad.”
Melinda Kee runs the group SOS Save Our Super. Supplied
Smith said he is concerned that many Australian expats are not checking their super or are not aware of local news regarding the failed investment schemes.
He warned that citizens living abroad face significant barriers in accessing their balance or contacting relevant trustees.
“And there is no way for overseas residents to access their ATO details as you need an Australian registered mobile phone number for the 2P authentication,” Smith added.
“Diversa were no different. The only means of contacting them are via a 1800 number, which is inaccessible from most of the world.”