In Australia, the financial press is in an all-out frenzy following the bitter loss by its country’s regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), in an 8-year-old case against Jodee Rich.  The loss has been described as a “crushing defeat” and a “monumental, utterly unqualified catastrophe,” with still others saying that a “sick ASIC should be put out of its misery” and disbanded altogether.

Rich, the founder of failed phone company One.Tel, prevailed in the case today when the NSW Supreme Court threw out ASIC’s case against him and former One.Tel finance director, Mark Silbermann. Judge Robert Austin stated that “I have reached the conclusion that ASIC has failed to prove any aspect of its pleaded case against either defendant.” He added that “ASIC’s contentions have a superficial appeal, but time and time again they were shown to be unpersuasive when the underlying financial detail was investigated.”

The Australian reports that ASIC sued Rich for $92 million over the collapse of the company, claiming that he misled the company’s board about One.Tel’s true financial position ahead of the company’s collapse. In addition to the roughly $20 million ASIC spent on the case, ASIC will also have to pay Rich’s legal fees under Australian law, which are estimated to be $15 million.

Rich responds to the verdict in the video below: