ASIC permanently bans former insurance company director
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has permanently banned a former NSW director of an insurance broking company, Timothy Charles Pratten, from providing financial services and from engaging in credit activities for "dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage from the Commonwealth by deception".
According to ASIC, he was convicted on seven counts following the investigation conducted by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) which found he had failed to declare approximately $5 million of income derived by him during financial years ending 2003 to 2009.
As a result, he was also removed as a company office-holder of Practical Insurance Claims Administration Pty Limited, and Australian financial services licensee, Rural and General Insurance Broking Pty Limited.
On top of this, he was disqualified from managing corporations.
Pratten, who was sentenced to five years' jail with a two-year non-parole period in April, has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decisions.
Under the Corporations Act and National Credit Act, ASIC may ban anyone who is convicted of a fraud offence.
Recommended for you
With regional and rural suburbs exhibiting high spare capacity to invest, Money Management speaks to three regional advisers on the opportunities beyond the major cities and the importance of a strong network.
Platform consolidation is expected to accelerate among financial advisers this year, as software company Finura pinpoints which two platforms are set to be the winners, thanks to this trend.
The software provider has made several appointments in its APAC wealth propositions team, with a focus on driving growth across digital advice, Xplan and strategic partnerships.
The platform has announced it plans to close its Xplore managed discretionary account service in 2026 which holds $2 billion in funds under administration.