Former NAB planner banned
A former senior financial planning manager and senior financial planner with National Australia Bank (NAB) has been permanently banned by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
The man was pursued by ASIC after it received notification by NAB.
The regulator announced today that it had permanently banned Hardik Bhimani, of Sheidow Park, South Australia, from providing financial services after an investigation found he had misappropriated advice fees owed to his employer, charged his clients excessive fees, and failed to provide a client with statements of advice.
The ASIC announcement said Bhimani was employed in New South Wales as a senior financial planning manager, and later a senior financial planner, with NAB between 1 April 2011 and 4 November 2013. He worked in NAB's financial planning business, NAB Financial Planning.
The ASIC statement said that between 5 December 2012 and 7 August 2013, ASIC found that Mr Bhimani:
- engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by creating and supplying NAB with ‘non-standard fee forms' indicating the applicable fees payable by the clients had been waived, and then made arrangements for the clients to deposit the advice fees into his personal NAB bank account;
- charged clients excessive fees;
- failed to provide a client with statements of advice; and
- engaged in repeated breaches of the standards expected of a person in his position.
ASIC also found reason to believe that Mr Bhimani was not of good fame and character.
NAB alerted ASIC to Mr Bhimani's conduct and fully refunded the advice fees to the affected clients.
Mr Bhimani has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision.
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