The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has permanently banned Colin James Oberg from providing financial services after he withdrew over $1.55 million of client funds without permission.
According to the regulator, Oberg was a financial adviser and authorised representative of WealthSure Financial Services and withdrew client funds between September 2007 and October 2008.
WealthSure alerted ASIC about Oberg's conduct in October 2010, by which time the company had revoked his status as its authorised representative.
Oberg claimed that at the time of the conduct he was told via text message from an associate to deposit the client funds into the bank account of a third person. From there, the funds would be transferred to an overseas institution, according to ASIC.
Oberg stated that he did not know who the third person was or why the funds needed to be deposited into that account.
Furthermore, he was not aware of the name of the overseas bank or institution, did not have any supporting documentation about the arrangement, and did not know how returns would be generated.
ASIC found that Oberg had acted dishonestly and was not a person of "good fame and character", and has permanently banned him.
Oberg has the right to lodge an application with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision.
