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The Federal Court of Australia has dismissed an appeal from a Sydney-based accountant against his permanent banning from providing financial services.
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Federal Court shoots down Sydney accountant’s ban appeal
08 August 2019
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Accountant and lawyer Yingjie Wang, also known as Jay Wang, had appealed against his permanent banning from providing financial services by ASIC, after the commission found his conduct to be dishonest.
In February 2017, ASIC permanently banned Mr Wang from providing financial services after finding that he had acted dishonestly in causing Easy Capital Global Pty Ltd to use an investor’s money for unauthorised purposes, and that he was not of good fame or character.
At the time of the relevant conduct, Mr Wang was a director and sole signatory of the bank account of Easy Capital Global Pty Ltd, a company which held an Australian financial services licence.
Mr Wang was also involved in the management of at least 14 companies who hold, or held, an Australian financial services (AFS) licence.
These companies include LSG Group (formerly known as NZ Global Financial Trading Pty Ltd and Easy Capital Global Pty Ltd), Eagle Aetos Capital (formerly known as GSM Financial Group) and Hodgson Faraday (formerly known as TM Index).
Mr Wang brought his appeal to the Federal Court after the Administrative Appeals Tribunal affirmed the decision last year.
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In dismissing Mr Wang’s appeal, the Federal Court upheld the AAT’s findings that Mr Wang had a dishonest state of mind when he transferred an investor’s money from Easy Capital Global Pty Ltd’s Australian bank account to the bank account of a company in the Seychelles with which Mr Wang had a very close relationship, at a time when he knew the investor was claiming the return of his money.
The court also found that Mr Wang sent mails to the investor that were misleading, and that he is not of good fame and character.
The Federal Court also found that the misleading emails sent by Mr Wang to the investor was conduct in relation to a financial product for the purposes of s1041H(1) of the Corporations Act, contrary to the AAT’s finding.
“The Federal Court’s decision demonstrates that ASIC’s administrative decision-making is robust and that ASIC’s banning decisions, which are key protective measures, are well capable of withstanding multiple challenges,” said ASIC deputy chair Dan Crennan QC.
“ASIC’s banning powers are vitally important such that ASIC can directly and expeditiously remove anyone who acts dishonestly from the financial services industry.”
Mr Wang’s banning is recorded on ASIC’s banned and disqualified persons register.
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