ASIC slaps 8-year ban on former director of derivatives issuer
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned Yossi Ashkenazi of Caulfield South, Victoria, from providing financial services for a period of eight years.
On 5 November 2018, the securities regulator said it cancelled the Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence of the retail OTC derivative issuer, AGM Markets Pty Ltd (AGM).
ASIC said it found AGM’s financial services business involved core elements of unconscionability and unmanaged conflicts of interest and followed a business model that disregarded key conduct requirements.
Until 3 April 2018, Ashkenazi was the only Australian resident director and was the chief executive of AGM, the regulator said.
In making the order to ban Ashkenazi for eight years, ASIC said it found that Ashkenazi had a key role regarding AGM’s financial services business and had been involved in the contravention of a financial services law, namely AGM’s contravention of engaging in unconscionable conduct in connection with financial services.
ASIC said it also found that Ashkenazi was also likely to contravene a financial services law and was not adequately trained, or was not competent, to provide a financial service or financial services.
Ashkenazi has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of the decision, ASIC said.
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