Kathmandu founder Jan Cameron faces criminal charges

Jan Cameron will appear before the Hobart Magistrates' Court following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Photo / File

The founder of outdoor retail giant Kathmandu is facing criminal charges.

The charges relate to Jan Cameron's involvement in infant formula maker Bellamy's across the Tasman.

Cameron, 67, a former director of Bellamy's, has been charged by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for failing to disclose her links to a major investor in the company.

She will appear before the Hobart Magistrates' Court following an investigation by ASIC, charged with contravening sections 671B(1) and 1308(2) of Australia's Corporations Act.

In a statement ASIC said Cameron failed to disclose her true relationship with a company which held approximately 14 million shares in the company.

ASIC alleges that on or about August 1, 2014, when Bellamy's became a listed company, Cameron began, along with her associate The Black Prince Foundation an entity domiciled in Curaçao, to have a substantial holding in a listed company through a holding of 14 million Bellamy's shares.

The holding represented more than 14.7 per cent of Bellamy's total issued capital, and that Cameron, who founded Kathmandu in Christchurch in 1987, failed to disclose that interest, ASIC said.

ASIC alleges that Cameron lodged an initial substantial holder notice days later that was misleading as it failed to disclose her true or complete relationship with The Black Prince Foundation.

Under Australia's Corporations Act, if a person begins to have a holding of shares in a listed company that results in 5 per cent or more voting power, they must lodge a substantial holder notice with the company and the Australian Securities Exchange.

Cameron, who made her fortune from Kathmandu, was director in Bellamy's between 2007 and 2011.