Unsuccessful appeal sees former KLA director disqualified
Former KLA Australia Investments director Christopher Fearon has failed in his appeal of the disqualification charge brought against him by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal has upheld APRA’s decision to disqualify Fearon from being a trustee, investment manager or custodian of a superannuation entity and as an approved auditor.
In 2005, APRA disqualified Fearon, as it had done with his fellow directors Peter Guild, Maris Neimanis, Ian Thomson and Glenn Wall a year earlier for failing to provide it with annual returns and for breaching legal requirements, in house asset rules and member disclosure requirements as well as for not maintaining minutes of meetings.
The tribunal determined that Fearon had not met obligations placed on him as a director of KLA, the trustee of the KLA Australia Superannuation Fund, and that he had performed audits on the fund even though he was not independent.
It also found he had tried to deceive APRA and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission with documents that said he had resigned as trustee director in 2001.
APRA has appointed an acting trustee to wind up the fund.
Recommended for you
ASIC has cancelled a Sydney AFSL for failing to pay a $64,000 AFCA determination related to inappropriate advice, which then had to be paid by the CSLR.
A former Brisbane financial adviser has been charged with 26 counts of dishonest conduct regarding a failure to disclose he would receive substantial commission payments for investments.
Inefficient data processes and systems mean advisers are spending over half of their time on product implementation and administration at the expense of clients, according to research.
With the regulator announcing its enforcement focus for 2025 last week, law firm Hall & Wilcox examines the areas which have dropped down the list in priority for the regulator.
