ASIC bans former ANZ AR


The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned a former ANZ authorised representative.
The regulator announced today that it had banned Ben Cheung of Epping, NSW, from providing financial services for 10 years after finding he had contravened financial services laws, and was not adequately trained or competent to provide financial services.
The ASIC announcement said its investigation had found that between April 2013 and March 2014, Cheung engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by forging signatures of clients on statements of advice, investment instruction forms and an investment withdrawal form; creating false bank documents, namely ANZ Advisor Diary Notes; and creating false documents, namely Nil Advisory Service forms.
Commenting on the banning, ASIC Deputy Chairman, Peter Kell said cracking downon such behaviour went to the heart of maintaining consumer trust and confidence.
"The banning of Mr Cheung demonstrates ASIC's Wealth Management Project is identifying and tackling this kind of fraudulent behaviour," he said.
The ASIC announcement noted that Cheung has appealed to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision.
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