A former broker has pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting his brokerage in knowingly making a false statement to ASIC in an annual compliance certificate.
The director of a former Melbourne-based brokerage Advanced Choice Finance Pty Ltd (ACF) has pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting ACF in making a false statement in a credit licence annual compliance certificate lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
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In January 2017, Ding (Tim) Yang, who was the sole person and responsible manager on ACF’s credit licence, allegedly falsely stated in the annual compliance certificate that none of ACF’s fit and proper people had their accreditation cancelled by a lender or their membership with an aggregator terminated.
However, ASIC investigations found that Mr Yang’s lender accreditation was terminated by the Bank of Melbourne in July 2012, and both his and ACF’s membership were terminated by his aggregation company, Connective OSN Pty Ltd, in April 2016.
As such, ACF has been charged with one count of knowingly making a false statement in a credit licence annual compliance certificate, to which Mr Yang has now pleaded guilty.
Sentencing is scheduled to take place at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on 13 April 2021.
ASIC banned Mr Yang from engaging in credit activities for four years in August 2019 and cancelled ACF’s ACL.
At the time, ASIC said it had found that Mr Yang had acted dishonestly in providing false answers to ASIC in the compliance certificates for ACF.
[Related: Major bank busted for misadvice: ASIC]
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