“All necessary criminal and background checks were undertaken for members of its board and senior management … as required by ASX listing rules,” it noted.

On Wednesday Big Un was trying to explain that this March 8 statement was entirely correct, notwithstanding the fact that Evertz has actually been convicted of a crime and spent time in jail.

In 1994, The Age reported that Richard Simon Evertz had been sentenced to eight months' jail, seven months of which were suspended, for blackmailing innocent men in public toilets by impersonating a police officer.

Evertz had already served 26 days in remand, and was released within the week.

Judge O'Shea said that on April 29, 1993 Evertz approached a man inside a public toilet block in Mornington, said he was a police officer and would have the man charged with indecent behaviour if he did not pay $1000.

Judge O'Shea said that at the time of the offences Evertz had separated from his family and "got mixed up" in a religious group.

In his record of interview with police, Evertz had expressed concerns about bisexual married men passing on Aids into the general community.

The judge said: "These are particularly serious and nasty offences.

"They involve impersonating police and putting . . . innocent victims in fear of being charged with disgusting offences. Even a successful defence of the charge would leave their reputation in tatters and might well wreck their family lives."

This is not news to Big Un.

“At all times the company was aware of the offences in the media reports but formed the view that at all relevant times they were spent convictions that did not require disclosure,” it said on Wednesday.

Spent convictions is a legal concept that allows the non-disclosure of certain offences after a waiting period +has passed, and the offender has not re-offended.

Qualifying conditions include the conviction not resulting in a prison sentence of more than 30 months, and a 10-year waiting period since the date of the offence.

The question is, what happens when this legal concept meets ASX disclosure requirements.

That will be up to James Shipton's team of investigators at ASIC, who are currently investigating Big Un.

While Big Un says this conviction did not require disclosure, it did say “all relevant disclosures were made to the market in the prospectus” in 2014.

This prospectus refers to Big Uns successful backdoor listing via the ASX-listed miner, Republic Gold.

Evertz - who would end up with 17 per cent ownership of the business - was meant to join the board as a director.

He decided to take the role of chief executive, and avoid a board role altogether.

The prospectus revealed that in 2008, just six years before the float, Evertz had got into trouble at a previous company he ran as executive director, Imagine Un Ltd.

Going by the name of Richard Evans at the time - due to a family dispute, according to the Big Un prospectus - he was the subject of action by the ACCC alleging misleading conduct.

“No penalties were imposed on Richard and he continued to act as Imagine’s chairman,” said the prospectus which also reported that he changed his name back to Evertz in 2010 “following a family reconciliation.”

The revelations come too late for investors who are now locked into Big Un.

Its shares are suspended from trading while the various regulators look into the reports which have completely shredded the financial credibility of the Big Un business which was the biggest gainer on the ASX last year with a 20-fold share price rise.

The details that have emerged via the AFR’s investigations suggest the financial health of the business is vastly different to the story being sold to the sharemarket.

It is no longer clear what revenue the company actually generated from customers, and what was generated by a complex round robin of payments with an external financier.

Inside job

The Commonwealth Bank has had its first bruising encounter before the banking royal commission.

And is it time to start questioning, again, the decision by its chairwoman Catherine Livingstone, to plump for an insider to replace Ian Narev rather than an outsider?

It would have been lost on no one that CommBank’s designated new broom, Matt Comyn, would have had plenty of reason to squirm over what emerged this week.

Does a bank that prides itself on being a technology leader really need the embarrassment of another tech glitch which - in this case - resulted in 10,000 customers receiving overdraft facilities they could not afford to use.

Or the tens of thousands of customers sold credit card insurance they were ineligible to claim on.

It was all on his patch as retail banking boss, although the bank’s matrix structure means there are plenty to share the blame.

Shoe fits

A moment of truth has arrived for Briscoe boss, Rod Duke.

His unrequited love for the David Kirk-chaired Kathmandu faces a test.

Duke will be forced to cough up $NZ 8 million to maintain Briscoe’s 20 per cent stake in the adventurewear retailer or, watch its stake dilute.

Kathmandu is conducting a capital raising to fund its $US60 million acquisition of US footwear group Oboz.

Keep in mind that Duke owns 78 per cent of Briscoe, which means he will fund most of Briscoe's share acquisition.

It was just last week, after Briscoe’s half year results, that Duke hinted he is still interested in acquiring Kathmandu.

Follow CBD on Twitter. Got a tip? ckruger@fairfaxmedia.com.au