Author Archives: ETE

Ben Jayaweera, a former financial adviser and director of Growth Plus Financial Group Pty Ltd (in Liquidation), has been sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment following a hearing in the Brisbane District Court on 26 August 2024. On 23 August 2024, a jury found Mr Jayaweera guilty of 28 counts of fraud pursuant to section 408C(1)(e) […]

On Friday 23 August 2024, Ben Jayaweera, a former financial advisor and director of Growth Plus Financial Group Pty Ltd (in Liquidation) was found guilty of 28 counts of fraud pursuant to section 408C(1)(e) Criminal Code Act 1899 (Qld). The offending took place between August 2013 and November 2015, resulting in a total detriment of […]

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s financial markets regulator and supervisor, has today published the translations in all official EU languages of its Guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms. The Guidelines will start applying three months after this publication, i.e. on 21 November 2024. Within two months of the […]

Insurers and brokers have improved governance and oversight of how products are designed, managed, reviewed, and distributed, but many still cannot show how they are providing fair value to customers or that they were receiving good outcomes. In a report published today, the FCA set out issues with information sharing between insurers and brokers, and […]

As it marks the first-year anniversary of investment scam disruption, ASIC announced today the takedown of more than 7,300 phishing and investment scam websites that seek to swindle consumers out of their information. Since July 2023, ASIC has coordinated the removal of over 5,530 fake investment platform scams, 1,065 phishing scam hyperlinks and 615 cryptocurrency […]

The FCA has fined PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) for failing to report to the regulator their belief that London Capital & Finance plc (LCF) might be involved in fraudulent activity. This is the first time the FCA has fined an audit firm. PwC encountered significant issues throughout their 2016 audit of LCF. A senior individual at […]

ASIC has disqualified Richard Andrew Sparreboom of Chirnside Park, Victoria, from managing corporations for the maximum period of five years due to serious misconduct. Between March 2019 and March 2022, Mr Sparreboom was the director of two companies that entered liquidation: Sparrk Logistics Pty Ltd Hedgehog Logistics Solutions Pty Ltd Mr Sparreboom’s conduct in relation […]

The FCA has censured the auditor Macintyre Hudson LLP (MHA) for failing to prepare client assets reports to the required standard. MHA failed to notify the FCA of rule breaches by firms it had audited, which could have put customers’ money at risk. Client asset protection is a key part of maintaining market confidence, financial […]

ASIC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against Australia’s largest market operator, ASX Limited, for allegedly making misleading statements related to its Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) replacement project. ASIC alleges statements made in ASX announcements on 10 February 2022 that the project remained “on-track for go-live” in April 2023 and was “progressing […]

The FCA has fined Cypriot contract for differences (CFD) firm Forex TB Limited (FXTB) £276,100 for failing to treat its customers fairly, and for providing investment advice without being authorised to do so. CFDs are complex leveraged financial products used to speculate on the movement in prices on a wide range of assets. As a […]