Former CBA planner charged with forgery
Permanently banned Commonwealth Bank (CBA) financial planner, Ricky David Gillespie, appeared in the Southport Magistrates Court on one rolled-up charge of forgery, following an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) investigation.
Gillespie has been charged on one rolled-up charge alleging the forgery of 31 documents when he provided advice as a representative of CBA's financial planning subsidiary, Commonwealth Financial Planning Limited (CFPL).
ASIC alleges that between 1 January, 2007 and 13 June, 2009, Gillespie forged the signatures of clients on documents including applications for financial products and a series of internal CFPL documents to meet the requirements of CBA's internal audit process.
In an issued statement, CBA said Gillespie was employed as a CFPL adviser between May 2006 and June 2009. CFPL reported two breaches regarding his conduct to ASIC in 2009 and 2010.
In 2012, Gillespie was permanently banned by ASIC from providing any financial services.
"Commonwealth Bank will not tolerate any unethical behaviour and is committed to addressing all instances of suspected misconduct or criminal activity. We fully support the actions being taken by ASIC in relation to the alleged misconduct," the statement said.
"Culture and ethics are very important to us and we will continue to ensure our systems, policies and processes support high standards of conduct."
The matter is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Recommended for you
A financial advice firm has been penalised $11 million in the Federal Court for providing ‘cookie cutter advice’ to its clients and breaching conflicted remuneration rules.
Insignia Financial has experienced total quarterly net outflows of $1.8 billion as a result of client rebalancing, while its multi-asset flows halved from the prior quarter.
Prime Financial is looking to shed its “sleeping giant” reputation with larger M&A transactions going forward, having agreed to acquire research firm Lincoln Indicators.
An affiliate of Pinnacle Investment Management has expanded its reach with a London office as the fund manager seeks to grow its overseas distribution into the UK and Europe.
