Equititrust CEO ban upheld
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has upheld a decision of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to permanently ban a former head and founding director of Equititrust Limited, Mark McIvor, from providing any financial services.
ASIC issued its banning order for McIvor in September 2015 after conducting an investigation which found that he had breached a financial services law.
Following this, the former director of Equititrust (in liquidation) filed an application with the AAT for a review of the ASIC's original decision.
However, the tribunal refused his application on the following grounds:
- McIvor had not made an affidavit in the AAT as to matters in controversy;
- Despite being advised by ASIC on 7 September 2015 that a banning order needed to be personally served, his solicitors did not make any arrangements to enable their client to be served the banning order; and
- He was evading service.
Equititrust was the responsible entity of the Equititrust Income Fund (EIF) and collapsed in 2011 as ASIC suspended its Australian financial services (AFS) licence for 12 months, for failing to comply with a number of key obligations as a financial services licensee.
Additionally, ASIC found that while McIvor was the director between 2004 and 2008, he failed to take the necessary steps to ensure he compiled with the Equititrust Income Fund compliance plan and he was also convicted and fined $10,000 of six charges in 2014 for failing to provide a report as to affairs and deliver books and records to various liquidators.
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