ASIC is accusing Kathmandu (ASX:KMD) founder and major Bellamy’s Australia backer Jan Cameron of failing to disclose a substantial interest in the milk company.

Cameron will appear before the Hobart Magistrates’ Court on criminal charges on March 12, following an investigation by ASIC that began in 2017.

Cameron was a director of Bellamy’s between May 14, 2007 and May 5, 2011.

ASIC alleges that when Bellamy’s listed in August 2014 Cameron held a 14.74 per cent stake in the company, both personally and along with her “associate”, an entity based in Curacao called The Black Prince Foundation, and she failed to tell the market.

A person must lodge a substantial holder notice with the company they own or have an interest in shares worth 5 per cent or more of voting power.

The corporate cop also claims in February 2017 Cameron lodged an initial substantial shareholder notice that didn’t fully outline her full relationship with The Black Prince Foundation, only that she owned personally and via three other entities almost 18 per cent of the company.

Early 2017 was a crunch time for Bellamy’s.

Its market cap had collapsed from $1.4bn to just $450m and shareholders owning 35 per cent of the company, led by Cameron, were moving to roll the board and had launched a class action.

Cameron’s putsch succeeded and the class action, whose claims relate to alleged misleading or deceptive conduct and an alleged breach by Bellamy’s of its continuous disclosure obligations in connection with its trading prospects and future earnings performance from April 14, 2016, to December 9, 2016, was settled in November last year.

Bellamy’s received a $1.5bn takeover offer from China Mengniu Dairy Company, which was completed by the end of December last year.

Stockhead is seeking comment from Cameron.