ASIC Cancels AFS Licence of OTC Derivative Issuer Berndale

The (ASIC) announced this Friday that it has cancelled the Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence of , a Melbourne-based over-the-counter (OTC) derivative issuer.
Not only was the firm’s licence revoked, but ASIC has also banned Stavro D’Amore from providing financial services for six years. D’Amore is a former director of Berndal and was the sole responsible manager and the key person on the AFS licence.

Following an administrative hearing, ASIC discovered that Berndale failed to meet the standards of the in a number of ways. This includes the company not ensuring that its representative (D’Amore) complied with financial services law, it did not have sufficient financial and human resources and the firm did not comply with the client money reporting requirements.
The Australian regulator also found that Berndale failed to have an appropriate internal dispute resolution scheme and that it didn’t lodge annual financial statements and audit reports. Overall, ASIC believes that the firm is “likely to contravene its general obligations as an AFS licensee”.
In regards to D’Amore, ASIC was made aware that he was not adequately trained nor competent to provide financial services and was involved in licence contraventions made by Berndale. As a result, the securities regulator said that he is likely to contravene a financial services law.