Ex-NAB adviser in multi-million dollar fraud scandal
A former National Australia Bank (NAB) financial planner who lost almost $5 million of client monies through illegal activities faced a Sydney Court yesterday to answer 14 criminal charges including fraudulent misappropriation, obtaining a financial advantage by deception, and making and using false documents.
Paul Drakos of New South Wales appeared in the Downing Centre Local Court after an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) investigation uncovered unlawful transactions totalling more than $7 million.
Drakos worked as an authorised representative of the NAB between October 1994 and August 2001, but in January this year was the recipient of a permanent ban by the regulator from acting as a representative of a dealer or investment adviser.
The ASIC investigation found that between 1997 and 2001, Drakos made recommendations to a number of his former NAB clients to invest in BSI Corp, an entity based in the Bahamas.
BSI Corp was not an NAB approved investment product. Investments valued at more than $4.7 million were lost.
NAB has made restitutions to most of the former clients of Drakos who lost their investments.
Drakos was not required to enter a plea and following the hearing, Drakos was released on bail on the provision he surrender his passport and remain in Australia, reporting once a week to his local police station.
Drakos will reappear in court on March 1, 2005.
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