ASIC permanently bans former Commonwealth Financial Planning adviser
A former Commonwealth Financial Planning adviser has been permanently banned by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) after it was found he had forged the signatures of four of his clients.
Anthony Awkar's banning brings the total number of actions that the regulator has brought against former Commonwealth Financial Planning employees to five.
Awkar was employed by the subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia as a financial adviser and authorised representative from May 2008 until resignation in June 2010.
According to ASIC, he was ranked as one of CFP's top financial advisers.
"ASIC found that Mr Awkar's conduct was not isolated, and did not arise from inadvertence, ignorance or mistakes," ASIC commissioner Peter Kell said.
"Rather, he behaved in a deliberately dishonest manner on numerous occasions over a period of almost two years and in relation to a number of clients," he said.
The regulator's investigation found that Awkar engaged in dishonest conduct by forging the signatures of four clients on such documents as statements of advice, financial needs analysis documents, applications for financial products and financial services guide receipts.
ASIC stated that he induced another person to deal in a financial product by dishonest concealment of material facts - notably, fee information attached to product advice.
In one instance, ASIC found that one of Awkar's financial needs analysis documents stated that the mother of a client had recently passed away, when - at the time - she was still alive.
The majority of Awkar's clients have subsequently been reimbursed by CFP for any losses arising from misconduct, and Awkar has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to seek a review of ASIC's decision.
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