On March 14, 2012 Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) published that a banned Gold Coast financial adviser faced court yesterday accused of more than 15 criminal charges including providing advice without a reasonable basis and making false and misleading statements. Ian John Weaver appeared at Southport Magistrates Court on 13 March 2012 charged with 12 counts of failing to have a reasonable basis for the advice he gave and 7 counts of making a false or misleading statement. It is alleged that as an authorised representative of Enhance Capital Pty Ltd and The Salisbury Group Pty Ltd between January 2003 and June 2010, Mr Weaver provided financial advice to a number of his clients without having a reasonable basis for the advice given. It is also alleged that he made a number of false or misleading statements which induced his clients to invest according to the advice he gave.

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On March 14, 2012 Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) published that the Court of First Instance today dismissed the appeal of Mr Chan Chun Wai, the director of Billion Global Asset Management Limited, against his conviction for holding out that he was carrying on and advertising a business in asset management without a licence. The Securities and Futures Commission prosecuted Chan following an investigation which revealed that Chan, the sole director and shareholder of Billion Global, represented, on a website he created in March 2010, that Billion Global managed a fund which had recorded growth of 45% between November 2009 and February 2010. In fact, the fund did not exist and neither Billion Global nor Chan were licensed by the SFC for these types of regulated activities.

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On March 01, 2012 Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) published that board had conducted investigation into the dealings in the shares of Softrak Technology Exports Ltd. for the period January 1, 2002 to July 31, 2002, inter alia, to ascertain whether there had been any violation of SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 1995. During the period of investigation, STEL was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and on the Ahmedabad Stock Exchange. Investigations, inter alia, revealed that STEL, which had a paid up capital of Rs.3,60,00,000 comprising 36 lakh shares, issued additional shares to the tune of three (3) crores on preferential basis to certain entities including Rajiv Acharya.

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On March 12, 2012 Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) published that it banned Mr Pawel Kulisiewicz, of Pyrmont in New South Wales, from providing financial services for three years. The banning follows an investigation into Mr Kulisiewicz’s conduct while he was a broker at StoneBridge Securities Limited. ASIC found that on 19 November 2009, Mr Kulisiewicz created an unapproved discretionary trading authorisation form on StoneBridge letterhead and sent it to a client. In doing so, Mr Kulisiewicz engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by holding out that it was within authority of the scope of his employment to provide discretionary trading services. Mr Kulisiewicz thereafter conducted a number of discretionary trades on that client’s account until 27 April 2010, contrary to the conditions of his employment.

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On March 08, 2012 Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) published that the former directors of Australian Capital Reserve Limited have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment to be served by way of Intensive Correction Order following an ASIC investigation. The charges relate to false or misleading statements in the company’s accounts and a prospectus. The directors, Mr Samuel Pogson of Wahroonga, Mr Murray Lapham of Turramurra and Mr Steven Martin of West Pennant Hills, were yesterday sentenced at the NSW District Court after pleading guilty to one charge each under the NSW Crimes Act of making a false or misleading statement to obtain a financial advantage for the company (refer 11-185AD).

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On March 07, 2012 Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) published that the Court of First Instance today ordered the founder and former chairman of Styland Holdings Ltd, Mr Kenneth Cheung Chi Shing, and his wife Ms Yvonne Yeung Han Yi, a former executive director of Styland, to pay compensation totalling over $85 million to the company for their misconduct (Note 1 and 2). This is the first time a compensation order has been made directly in proceedings brought by the Securities and Futures Commission under section 214 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO). The Court has also disqualified Cheung and Yeung for 12 years each (Note 3) – the longest disqualification orders ever to be imposed in such proceedings (Note 4).

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On March 07, 2012 Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) published that a Sydney-based financial adviser has been permanently banned from providing financial services after it was found she had falsified more than 60 insurance policies in order to collect the ensuing commissions. Susan Heathwood, of Randwick, was an authorised representative of GuardianFP from April 2005 until May 2011, and an employee of Jalee Consulting Group Pty Ltd (Jalee), also an authorised representative of GuardianFP. She provided financial advice and arranged life insurance. An ASIC investigation found Ms Heathwood falsified 65 insurance policies between 2010 and 2011 for the purpose of being paid commissions.

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On March 02, 2012 Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) published that it has banned Ms Miranda Hui Chi Cheung from re-entering the industry for 10 years from 2 March 2012 to 1 March 2022 (Note 1). The SFC’s investigation found that between December 2010 and January 2011, Hui: carried out unauthorized trading transactions in two clients’ accounts; lied to the clients by telling them that the unauthorized trades were error trades; and failed to disclose to her employer her personal trading activities in the clients’ securities accounts.

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On March 02, 2012 Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) published that it has permanently banned Mr Nenad Petrovic, a former Victorian company director, from providing financial services after he dishonestly withdrew more than $200,000 from client accounts over a four-month period. The action against Mr Petrovic, now of Brisbane, follows an ASIC investigation into his time as a director and financial adviser of the boutique financial advisory firm, Mitchell Asset Management Pty Ltd, AFS licence number 320019 (formerly Almane Pty Ltd) between 16 November 2009 and 30 March 2010.

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On March 01, 2012 Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) published that the commission has suspended the licence of Mr Li Junfeng for 14 months from 1 March 2012 to 30 April 2013 (Note 1). The disciplinary action follows an SFC investigation which found that Li: kept two secret accounts and failed to disclose them to his employer; and misled the SFC by failing to provide answers truthfully in his interview with the SFC.

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On February 07, 2012 Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published that the authority on 14 November 2011, Ms Ting Hong Lean Marilyn ["Ms Ting"] paid a composition amount of $3,250 for contravening section 137 of the Securities and Futures Act ["SFA"] which requires substantial shareholders of listed companies to notify the securities exchange of changes in their shareholdings. Ms Ting failed to notify SGX-ST of the changes in her deemed shareholdings in Vallianz Holdings Limited ["Vallianz"] which took place on 24 September and 27 September 2010.

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On February 07, 2012 Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published that the authority on 14 November 2011, Mr Lim Keng Hock Jonathan ["Mr Lim"] paid a composition amount of $2,500 for contravening section 137 of the Securities and Futures Act ["SFA"] which requires substantial shareholders of listed companies to notify the securities exchange of changes in their shareholdings. Mr Lim failed to notify SGX-ST of the change in his direct shareholdings in Adventus Holdings Limited ["Adventus"] which took place on 1 October 2010.

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On February 07, 2012 Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published that the authority on 20 January 2012, MAS reprimanded Mr. Tan Hwee Huat Ernest, a representative of a licensed financial adviser, for his breaches of sections 21(1) and 22(1) of the FAA. Section 21(1) of the FAA stipulates that no person shall use the words “financial adviser” in any language or any other word indicating that that person carries on business as a financial adviser unless that person is a licensed financial adviser or exempt financial adviser. Section 22(1) of the FAA states that no person shall hold himself out to be a financial adviser unless he is a licensed financial adviser, an exempt financial adviser, or a person specified in the First Schedule to the FAA.

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On February 29, 2012, Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) published that the Eastern Magistrates Court today postponed the scheduled date for the trial of former senior executive of CITIC Pacific Limited (CITIC) Mr Simon Chui Wing Nin, whom the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) alleges to have committed insider dealing. The trial was to commence on 19 March 2012. Senior counsel for Chui told the court that following a change in legal team, more time is required to obtain an expert report. The court granted the application. The case will return to court for mention again on 23 April 2012 for fixing a new trial date.

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On February 27, 2012, Hong Kong Securities & Futures Commission (SFC) published that the Former independent non-executive director of Hong Kong Aircraft Engineering Company Limited (HAECO), Mr Lam Kwong Yu, was today found guilty of insider dealing following a trial in the Eastern Magistracy (Note 1). Lam was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years and fined $50,000 (Note 2). The court heard that Lam bought 4,000 HAECO shares on 4 June 2010 after being told by the Chief Executive Officer of HAECO, at about 3:13 pm that day, that at an urgent meeting of the HAECO board later that day, there would be a discussion about an intended proposal in which Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, a substantial shareholder of HAECO, would sell all its HAECO shares to Swire Pacific Limited (Swire), a deal which would trigger a general offer by Swire for all shares in HAECO.

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