APRA bans director from super funds

TheAustralian Prudential Regulation Authority(APRA) has disqualified a former executive director of an insurance management group from acting as a trustee of any superannuation fund.

Kingsley Clive Lamont, formerly executive director and chairman of OAMPS Ltd, was said by the regulator to have ignored conflicts of interest and breached his fiduciary obligations in his role as a director of the Steadfast Insurance Brokers Management Group.

Lamont was forced to resign his position from the OAMPS board to comply with consent orders made by the Victorian Supreme Court that prohibited him from certain company directorships for the three years to July 2004.

APRA says Lamont negotiated with then chief executive of FAI Insurance Rodney Adler for the insurer to provide a loan to Lamont’s private company to purchase OAMPS shares owned by FAI.

Part of the deal, according to APRA, was that the interest payments on the loan would be tied to the volume of insurance business generated for FAI by the insurance brokers who were shareholders of Steadfast. APRA says such arrangements placed Lamont’s private interests ahead of his fiduciary duties as a director of Steadfast.

“APRA intents to take strong action against individuals who are considered not to be ‘fit and proper’ as a result of conflicts of interest, inside dealing or other unacceptable behaviour,” APRA general manager enforcement, Darryl Roberts says.

APRA says there was no alleged wrongdoing by Steadfast, OAMPS, FAI or Adler in the court proceedings.