Paul Bennetts, former director and chief executive of financial services company Spaceship Capital – promoter of the Spaceship Super Fund – has been banned from providing financial services for six years after an ASIC investigation found he had dishonestly obtained his Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) qualification.
According to ASIC in 2018 Mr Bennetts – who was the Spaceship Capital’s CEO between 2017 and 2019 – asked a compliance officer within the company to complete his assessments for an AICD course without his involvement.
“ASIC found that Mr Bennetts’ actions amounted to serious misconduct, as he sought and obtained an AICD qualification by acting dishonestly,” the regulator said.
“This conduct occurred while Mr Bennetts held a very senior position in a financial services company. ASIC found that his actions placed a subordinate staff member in a very difficult position and constituted a misuse of Spaceship Capital’s resources for his personal gain.”
The ban prevents Mr Bennetts from providing any financial service, controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business and performing any function involved in carrying on a financial services business.
Mr Bennetts has the right to appeal the decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
Interesting. A large number of KPMG staff did something similar, but on a much bigger scale. ASIC did not do anything. Too big…?
Banned but others steal from Clients (The IIOFF FUND anyone) of up to $20 million and they still run an AFSL, ASIC are fools
Ban him, but what about the executives that managed the fee for no service schemes? Surely what they did was not a lesser crime.
This is symptomatic of the problems faced within financial services. The Hayne Royal Commission really missed a trick here. By placing the onus on the lowly financial adviser the root cause of the wrongdoing was missed. No doubt wrongdoing at the executive level will continue at the same pace it always has and consumers will continue to bear the consequences.
Hang on isn’t that what has happened here?
Seriously – he should be banned for life, and what about the Compliance officer?