ASIC has cancelled the Australian financial services (AFS) licence of Pacific Millennium International Investment Group Pty Ltd (PMIIG) after it was found to have breached the obligations of a financial services licensee.
PMIIG was authorised under its AFS licence to provide general financial advice and dealing services to wholesale clients, among other things.
ASIC found that PMIIG had failed to:
- maintain the competence to provide the financial services covered by its AFS licence;
- comply with the financial requirements of its AFS licence;
- lodge financial reports and auditor's reports on time, or not at all; and
- did not advise ASIC of the above breaches within 10 business days.
Commissioner Greg Tanzer said, 'ASIC takes compliance with these obligations seriously. They are important to ensure we have efficient and well-functioning financial markets and that consumers can have confidence and trust in the financial services market. ASIC will take action when AFS licensees fail to meet their obligations.
'ASIC has recently cancelled the AFS licenses of a number of wholesale service providers and the conduct of licensees in this sector will continue to be a priority for us,' Mr Tanzer said.
PMIIG has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.
Background
The cancellation of PMIIG's AFS licence is effective 28 July 2016.
PMIIG’s services included providing general financial advice, dealing in securities on behalf of another person and issuing, acquiring and disposing of interests in managed investment schemes, to wholesale clients.
ASIC has taken a number of recent actions to cancel the AFS licence of wholesale service providers, including: