ASIC bans ‘disinterested and disengaged’ responsible manager
The former responsible manager of derivatives provider, Sirius Financial Markets, has been banned by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) for eight years.
Mark Bringans’ banning followed an ASIC investigation into Sirius Financial (trading as Trade360) which found Sirius acted unconscionably and breached its Australian financial services licence obligations. Sirius ceased trading on 29 August, 2022.
This was because it failed to address the conduct of offshore call centre, Toyga Media, which had been hired to source clients to trade in its high-risk contracts-for-difference and margin foreign exchange contracts.
ASIC found Toyga engaged in pressure-selling tactics and provided unlicensed advice on behalf of Sirius.
It determined Bringans was not adequately trained and competent, not a fit and proper person to provide financial services and ignored his duties as a responsible manager.
He was also “a disinterested, disengaged responsible manager who did little more than attend monthly compliance committee meetings”.
His banning is recorded on ASIC’s Banned and Disqualified Persons Register and he had applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for a review of ASIC’s decision. His application for a stay of the implementation of the banning order was refused by the AAT.
Bringans was the third senior executive to be banned as ASIC had previously banned Jonathan Schneider and Oskar Pecyna from controlling an entity that carried on financial services or performing any executive or management role in relation to financial services for eight years.
AUTHOR
Laura Dew
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