The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has permanently banned Mr Neil Charles Manning, of Marmion in Western Australia, from providing any financial services.

Mr Manning was banned after ASIC found that he carried on a financial services business without holding an Australian financial services licence, and that he would not comply with the financial services law.

Mr Manning provided financial product advice and dealt in a financial product in relation to EC Trust Co, an offshore company incorporated in Labuan, Malaysia.

ASIC’s investigation found that at least 17 investors from Western Australia had made ‘debenture’ investments in or through EC Trust Co. The investments amounted to an approximate value of $1.5 million, with claimed returns exceeding 50 per cent and a minimum ‘guaranteed’ return of 9 per cent.

‘The promise of high returns especially when the investment is in an unknown overseas trust exposes investors to unreasonable risks. Investors should not seek advice or act on the advice of unlicensed financial advisers’, said ASIC Deputy Executive Director of Enforcement, Mr Mark Steward.

‘Remember, no licence means no protection, so our advice is simple – deal only with businesses that hold an Australian Financial Services licence’, Mr Steward said.

Mr Manning has a right to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s banning order.