Former adviser banned following conviction
ASIC has permanently banned a former adviser after they were previously convicted for dishonest conduct and providing forged wholesale certificates.
In an online update, ASIC stated that former financial adviser Ezzat-Daniel Nesseim has been banned from performing any function involved in the operation of a financial services business or controlling, whether alone or with others, an entity that operates a financial services business.
The ban follows Mr Nesseim’s conviction for engaging in dishonest conduct, for providing forged documents to ASIC and lying to ASIC when questioned about those documents.
In May this year, Mr Nesseim was sentenced to a three-year intensive correctional order, including one year of home detention, for engaging in dishonest conduct and providing falsified documents to ASIC.
According to ASIC, he engaged in repeated dishonest conduct by providing three forged wholesale certificates to ASIC in an attempt to influence an ASIC officer that they genuine documents relevant to ASIC’s decision about whether to continue its investigation.
ASIC stated that he also gave ASIC false answers and information after ASIC questioned Mr Nesseim — both under oath and by way of statutory notice — about the forged wholesale certificates.
“Under the Corporations Act, ASIC may permanently ban a person from the financial services industry if they are convicted of a fraud offence,” the corporate regulator stated.
“This banning order serves to further protect consumers by widening an existing ban handed down by ASIC in 2018 that permanently prohibited Mr Nesseim from providing any financial services.”
Mr Nesseim was also permanently banned from engaging in credit activities from 19 July 2019 after he was found not to be a fit and proper person to engage in credit activities.
Mr Nesseim has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision.
Miranda Brownlee
Miranda Brownlee is the deputy editor of SMSF Adviser, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the SMSF sector.
Since joining the team in 2014, Miranda has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest superannuation stories in Australia, and has reported extensively on technical strategy and legislative updates.
Miranda also has broad business and financial services reporting experience, having written for titles including Investor Daily, ifa and Accountants Daily.
