Category: Press Releases

ASIC has warned businesses it will be targeting greenwashing, predatory lending, and misleading insurance pricing promise this year, as part of a continuing focus on protecting consumers from financial harm. The warning coincides with the release of its latest enforcement and regulatory report, highlighting actions taken during the last three months of 2022, and outlining...

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has used its powers to enter and inspect several sites around Leeds suspected of hosting illegally operated crypto ATMs. The FCA gathered evidence from several sites around the city as part of a joint operation with West Yorkshire Police’s Digital Intelligence and Investigation Unit. Mark Steward, Executive Director of Enforcement...

The FCA has publicly censured Amigo Loans Ltd for failing to conduct adequate affordability checks on borrowers and guarantors. The FCA would have imposed a fine of £72,900,000, however, Amigo demonstrated that this would cause it serious financial hardship. A fine would also have threatened Amigo’s ability to meet its commitments to a High Court-sanctioned...

ASIC today published its Indigenous Financial Services Framework (Framework). The Framework is part of ASIC’s role in supporting positive financial outcomes for First Nations people. A cornerstone of ASIC developing its Framework was through extensive and thorough consultations with First Nations peoples, financial services industry representatives, as well as fellow Government Departments, Agencies, and Regulators....

ASIC has permanently banned Sean John Sweeney of Lindfield, New South Wales, after he was convicted of fraud offenses on 4 November 2022. Mr. Sweeney is banned from providing any financial services, performing any function involved in the carrying on of a financial services business, and controlling an entity that carries on a financial services...

ASIC has permanently banned former Perth financial adviser Rahul Goel from having any involvement in financial services and credit activities. In December 2022, Mr. Goel was sentenced to three years imprisonment for fraud offenses to be released after serving 18 months, upon entering a $5000 recognizance to be of good behavior for two years. He...

Trevor William King of Sydney, New South Wales, was sentenced in Parramatta Local Court on 10 February 2023 to a 14-month intensive corrections order after making false documents to obtain a financial advantage, contrary to s253(b)(ii) of the Crimes Act 1900 (NSW). Between 2 July 2013 and 12 May 2016, Mr. King created 74 false documents in support...

On 9 February 2023, Sharon Kia Le Heng of Perth, Western Australia, was convicted and sentenced in the Perth District Court for stealing $725,639.50 from Legacy Iron Ore Limited (Legacy), a publicly listed entity. Ms. Heng was sentenced to three years imprisonment, wholly suspended for two years. Ms. Heng was the founding director of Legacy...

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) required firms to amend or remove 8,582 promotions during 2022 – 14 times more than in 2021, a report published today shows. The FCA also published over 1,800 alerts to help prevent consumers from losing their money to scams. Social media remains a major focus for the regulator’s work in...

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is to push ahead with proposals to ban debt packager firms from receiving referral fees from debt solution providers, following further analysis of the market. The FCA initially consulted on a ban in November 2021 after identifying a lack of adequate management of the conflict of interest between giving advice...