ASIC has permanently banned Roderick Halligan from providing financial services or having any involvement in a financial services business.
According to ASIC, between 1 June 2015 and 22 October 2020 Mr Halligan, who was an authorised representative of the BR Securities Australian licensee, transferred shares of over $550,000 from client accounts into the trading account of Santorini Sun – a business in which he held interest – without client authorisation.
Mr Halligan then sold these shares “to the benefit of Santorini Sun and himself”.
“ASIC also found that Mr Halligan engaged in conduct designed to cause his clients to believe that they still had the shares he had transferred without authorisation,” the regulator said in a statement.
“In permanently banning Mr Halligan, ASIC found that he was not a fit and proper person to provide financial services. ASIC also found he had failed in his legal obligations not to mislead or deceive and was likely to continue to contravene financial services laws.”
In October 2020, BR Securities Australia reported Mr Halligan’s conduct to ASIC and reimbursed his clients for their losses. BR was then reimbursed by Mr Halligan.
Mr Halligan has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for a review of ASIC’s decision.
I did a quick search of ASIC and all funds were repaid in full.
So he caught borrowing and not stealing? Does that make it any better ?
Let me guess…small self licensed AFSL?
Are YOU kidding!!
This is the type of behaviour that needs to be stopped. You can have all the FSGs, SOAs, FASEAs, Advice reviews, Fee Disclosure Statements. But they won’t stop this. Is the regulation really solving the key problems?
I have always said that the “professional” obligations required will not stop poor behaviour
If only he had completed the Ethics exam this could have all been avoided.
No actually.
A quick check of the FAR (he was never on it) and the PR (is on this as an AR, so wholesale clients) tells us he was exempt from the exam requirement. Only Advisers who give advice to retail clients must pass the exam.
And right there, you have pointed out the irony in this entire FASEA mess… advice for everyday Australians was a catch cry of the RC… and yet the negative impacts of FASEA requirements have only hit those that service that market. The big boys protected once again!
And still they think they can get away with it… pity there is not a psychological test to determine those likely to steal from their clients before they get a license.
stewart – if there was such a test then all the politicians, lawyers and industry super funds would FAIL it!