Societe Generale pleads guilty

Societe Generale Securities Australia (SGSAPL) has pleaded guilty on four client money offences, the corporate watchdog has announced.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said SGSAPL pleaded guilty to:

• Two counts of breaching s993B(1) by receiving money in connection with financial services, and then failing to pay that money into an account that satisfied the client money requirements within s981B of the Corporations Act 2001; and
• Two counts of breaching s993C(1) through making payments out of a client money account that were not permitted by reg 7.8.02 of the Corporations Regulations.

The breaches occurred between 8 December, 2014, and 8 February, 2017, and each carried a maximum penalty of $45,000.

ASIC said SGSAPL was the second company this year to face criminal prosecution for breaching client money provisions.

Last month, ASIC imposed extra conditions on the firm’s Australian financial services licence (AFSL) after it found SGSAPL deposited client money into unauthorised bank accounts between December 2014 and September 2018.