ASIC aims to shut unlicensed Vault
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has secured an interim order preventing Vault Market Pty Ltd and its director, MD Anamul Amin, from carrying on a financial services business without an Australian Financial Services licence.
ASIC commenced action in the NSW Supreme Court to close down the ‘www.kiwifxbank.com' website which the regulator said offered clients foreign exchange (FOREX) trading with the promise of "quick executions, low spreads, and intelligent customer-services".
ASIC received complaints that users of the FOREX trading service had not received profits which they generated from trading with KiwiFX Bank.
The court issued an order restraining Amin and Vault from carrying on a financial services business without holding an AFSL, or holding out that they hold and AFSL, and to use their best endevours to remove all contect on the website and publish a notice for clients and potential clients, stating that Vault was not licensed with ASIC and does not hold an AFSL and that KiwiFX Bank is not a foreign bank.
The matter will return to the NSW Supreme Court on Monday 25 August 2014, and in the interim, the court has imposed travel restrictions on Amin.
AUTHOR
Nicholas O'Donoghue
Recommended for you
Quarterly Wealth Data analysis has uncovered positive improvements in financial adviser numbers compared with losses in the prior corresponding period.
Holding portfolios that are too complex or personalised can be a detractor for acquirers of financial advice firms as they require too much effort to maintain post-acquisition.
As the financial advice profession continues to wait on further DBFO legislation, industry commentators have encouraged advisers to act now in driving practice efficiency.
New Zealand’s financial regulator is following the footsteps of its Tasman neighbours and proposing to conduct a review on improving the accessibility of financial advice and advice business models.
