Mr Palmer, who has been pursued by the corporate regulator for years over several matters, denied he had a personal vendetta against Mr Shipton, a former Goldman Sachs banker who joined ASIC in 2018.
“It’s not personal, but he should resign,” Mr Palmer told AFR Weekend.
ASIC chairman James Shipton says he acted “properly and appropriately”. Â Eamon Gallagher
“It’s very important for anyone in that role that the business community has confidence and integrity in them. I don’t believe anyone in business has any faith in ASIC.”
Mr Palmer said it was unfair for Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate to have to resign over giving staff Cartier watches as a bonus while Mr Shipton’s tax expenses were worth “49 Cartier watches”.
ASIC deputy chairman Daniel Crennan resigned in October after it was revealed the corporate regulator had paid $69,621 in housing costs equal to $750 weekly rent in 2018 and 2019 after he was asked to relocate from his long-time home of Melbourne to ASIC’s Sydney office.
Mr Palmer said Mr Shipton should also resign or be sacked by the Treasurer.
When he stood aside after concerns were raised by the Auditor-General, Mr Shipton defended his behaviour.
“Whilst I believe that I have acted properly and appropriately in this matter, I hold myself to the highest possible standard. What matters is that I act with integrity and honour,” he said in October.
Mr Palmer the former politician who has built his fortune in recent years on the back of an iron ore project in Western Australia said ASIC had become obsessed with “big scalp” prosecutions such as his and fellow billionaire Andrew Forrest.
He has also been waging a war with the corporate regulator about it passing on information to their Chinese counterparts about his business dealings.
“Most people are scared of ASIC, but I’m not. What ASIC should be doing is monitoring the whole industry, that’s their job. It was pretty clear from the banking inquiry they weren’t doing their job,” he said.
“They want to try and get some high-profile cases like against me and Andrew Forrest. They just want to look like they are doing something.”
Mr Palmer has been on an advertising blitz targeting Mr Shipton, taking out full-page advertisements in newspapers across the country, including The Australian Financial Review.
He has been pursued by ASIC for years over the $300 million collapse of Queensland Nickel.
He has been charged by the corporate watchdog over siphoning $12 million from one of his private companies to his now-defunct Palmer United Party in 2013.
The Mineralogy boss and prolific litigant said he also planned to launch his own legal action against ASIC for “malicious prosecution”.
A spokeswoman for ASIC declined to comment but said the Thom review would be completed by the end of the year.
The billionaire says corporate regulator no longer has the confidence of the business community.
