ASIC bans Victorian directors for three years
The corporate regulator has banned two Melbourne directors associated with an unregistered managed investment scheme from providing financial services for three years.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) banned Brian Forshaw and Guiscardo Bottari following an investigation into their involvement in three companies connected with an unregistered managed investment scheme, Investors Choice Fixed Interest Program.
The bannings follow declarations and orders obtained by ASIC in February in Melbourne’s Federal Court against Royal Parade Properties Pty Ltd (formerly known as Investors Choice Pty Ltd), Vitalskill Management Pty Ltd, and Infocus Management Australia Pty Ltd.
At the time, the court declared the three companies had contravened the Corporations Act by operating a managed investment scheme without registration, failing to provide a Product Disclosure Statement for a financial product, and operating a financial services business without an Australian Financial Services Licence.
As former directors of Vitalskill Management and Infocus Management (trading as Investor Choice Financial Solutions), ASIC alleged Forshaw and Bottari engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct and demonstrated a propensity to ignore laws concerning financial products.
Forshaw and Bottari have the right to lodge an application with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of ASIC’s decision.
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