Evolution Capital Raided in ASIC Probe Linked to Vection Trading

Australian Federal Police searched the Sydney head office of stockbroker Evolution Capital on Wednesday, August 26, as part of an investigation led by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

The Australian Financial Review, which first reported the searches, said officers also attended homes connected to Evolution Capital founder Stephen Silver and Mendy Amzalak, the firm’s head of trading and institutional sales.

A follow-up report linked the investigation to trading in Vection Technologies, an ASX-listed artificial intelligence and extended-reality software company. Trading in a second unidentified ASX-listed company is also reportedly being examined.

ASIC has not publicly confirmed the scope of the investigation. No charges, licence restrictions or formal allegations have been announced against Evolution Capital, Vection Technologies, Silver or Amzalak.

Evolution Capital, ASIC and the AFP declined to comment to the AFR following the initial searches. Evolution and Vection reportedly did not respond to questions concerning the follow-up report.

Evolution Capital’s Work for Vection Technologies

Public filings show that Evolution Capital has an established financial relationship with Vection covering capital raising, options and investment research.

Evolution acted as lead manager for a A$3.55 million Vection placement announced in April 2025. The transaction involved approximately 236.67 million shares issued at A$0.015 each, with investors receiving one listed option for every two shares.

Under its lead-manager mandate, Evolution received a 6% cash fee, equivalent to approximately A$213,000, as well as 10.65 million options. The options carry an exercise price of A$0.018 and expire in November 2027.

Evolution was subsequently involved in another Vection capital raising in September 2025. The company raised A$21 million through the issue of 350 million shares at A$0.06 each. Evolution acted as joint lead manager and sole bookrunner, alongside Canaccord Genuity and Peloton Capital.

Evolution also published research on Vection. A report released on September 2, 2025 assigned the company a speculative-buy rating and a fair value of A$0.17 per share. Vection shares were trading at A$0.056 at the time.

The research disclosed that Evolution had received a financial benefit from Vection, which could include compensation for advisory, capital-raising or underwriting services. It also stated that Evolution or its associates could hold and trade securities in companies covered by its research.

Those disclosures confirm the commercial relationship between the companies but do not indicate that any improper conduct occurred.

Vection shares closed at A$0.019 on the day of the searches, down 13.6% during the session. However, the shares had already fallen below A$0.025 earlier in August, before news of the investigation emerged.

Investigation Remains Unconfirmed by Regulators

Evolution Capital is a Sydney-based corporate advisory and stockbroking firm founded by Silver in 2016. Its services include capital raising, institutional trading, corporate finance and equity research.

The firm operates as an authorised representative of Evolution Capital Securities Pty Ltd, which holds Australian Financial Services Licence number 551094. Its disclosed authorisations include financial-product advice, securities dealing and underwriting services for wholesale clients.

Neither ASIC nor the AFP has issued a statement identifying the transactions under investigation or explaining why the searches were conducted.

The reported connection to Vection and the second ASX-listed company currently comes from media reports rather than a regulator announcement. A search warrant also does not establish that an offence has occurred.