Mr Omar Diab, of Wollongong, New South Wales, has been permanently banned from providing financial services following an ASIC investigation into allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct and carrying on a financial services business without holding an Australian financial services (AFS) licence.

Mr Diab was a director of Sydney based companies, Xenith Capital Pty Ltd and Xenith Investment Corp Aust. Pty Ltd. At the relevant time, neither Mr Diab nor these companies held an AFS licence and have never been appointed as an authorised representative of an AFS licencee.

Between March 2009 and November 2009, clients of Mr Diab opened contracts for difference (CFD) trading accounts with CMC Markets Asia Pacific Pty Ltd (CMC Markets). These clients granted powers of attorney to Mr Diab in relation to their CFD trading accounts, empowering Mr Diab to place orders with and to give oral, written and electronic instructions to CMC Markets on their behalf. Pursuant to the powers of attorney, Mr Diab gave numerous daily instructions to CMC Markets to execute trades in respect of CFDs on each of the clients’ accounts. Having regard to the number of clients and number of CFD transactions undertaken by Mr Diab on their behalf, ASIC found Mr Diab’s conduct constituted undertaking a financial services business without holding an AFS licence.

In addition, ASIC found that Mr Diab engaged in conduct that was misleading and deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive by the making of statements that were false and which conveyed misrepresentations to a client when he was a director of Xenith Capital.

ASIC banned Mr Diab in order to protect the public, deter similar conduct and maintain consumer confidence in the financial services industry.

CMC Markets was not suspected of any wrongdoing with respect to Mr Diab’s conduct and cooperated with ASIC’s investigation.

Mr Diab has the right to apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.