Senen Pousa, director of Investment Intelligence Corporation (IIC), has been handed a 12-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to carrying on a financial services business without an Australian financial services (AFS) licence, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said.
Pousa, of Byron Bay, was sentenced in the Brisbane District Court, on charges brought by ASIC, to 12 months imprisonment, suspended forthwith on the condition that he be of good behaviour for a period of five years.
The charges relate to Pousa's conduct between September 2011 and June 2012 as the sole director of IIC, ASIC said.
"Mr Pousa and his company exposed investors worldwide to significant financial losses with no recourse since the company was not licensed,” ASIC deputy chair Peter Kell said.
“As in this case, acting outside the licensing regime and facilitating others to do is a criminal offence and has significant consequences."
In July 2012, ASIC froze more than $3 million in funds held by IIC as part of its investigation. ASIC also obtained orders preventing Pousa from leaving the country.
ASIC said it subsequently obtained orders to wind up IIC on just and equitable grounds.
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