A British Columbia securities panel has issued a permanent prohibition on Joel Richard Stewart Macdonald, a former Australian tech executive, barring him from acting as a director, officer or promoter of any public company in the province following findings of “extremely serious” investor harm.

The decision arises from his leadership of Australian-listed company GetSwift Limited, which raised approximately AU$100 million and later transferred an estimated AU$80 million offshore after becoming subject to investigation.

Macdonald started the enterprise as LiquorRun in 2013 while still playing Australian rules football, later re-branding and redirecting its focus to last-mile delivery software under the GetSwift name.

The company’s shares surged from about AU$0.20 in December 2016 to over AU$4 within a year, after announcing purported contracts with major global companies.

The Australian Federal Court subsequently found GetSwift engaged in an unlawful “public relations-driven” disclosure scheme that misled investors; Macdonald was held personally liable for more than fifty contraventions of Australian securities law and was banned from managing corporations for twelve years in Australia in 2023.

According to the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC), once investigations commenced by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, GetSwift transferred the AU$80 million sum into offshore accounts and redomiciled in Canada under the name GetSwift Technologies.

The BCSC detailed that these transfers were “unexplained by any evidence” and that Macdonald showed no remorse.

Given the scale of investor losses and the cross-border nature of the conduct, the regulator concluded that only a full market ban would safeguard confidence in British Columbia capital markets.

Macdonald did not participate in the Canadian regulatory process.

Notices were served to addresses in Florida and Colombia, where he has been publicly seen discussing losses potentially reaching US$200 million while describing himself as an entrepreneur based in New York.

The BCSC’s enforcement division has listed the decision under its October 23, 2025 record of orders and has signalled that the prohibition will be registered across Canadian regulatory agencies under mutual recognition provisions.

The outcome marks a rare case of reciprocal securities-regulator action stemming from cross-border misconduct.

It underscores regulators’ growing willingness to target individuals whose conduct in one jurisdiction spills into another.

The BCSC emphasised that permanent bans remain the strongest tool available when investor harm is extensive and regulatory remediation unlikely to succeed.