Advanced Choice Finance Pty Ltd (ACF), a former Melbourne based mortgage brokerage company, has been convicted and fined $4,000 for knowingly making a false statement in a credit licence annual compliance certificate lodged with ASIC. 

Ding Yang, the former director of ACF, was found to have aided and abetted ACF in making a false statement and ordered to give a recognizance in the sum of $1,000, that he be of good behaviour for two years.  He was not convicted of an offence.

ACF held an Australian credit licence, and Mr Yang was the sole fit and proper person and responsible manager on the licence.

Mr Yang had his lender accreditation with the Bank of Melbourne terminated in July 2012, and in April 2016 Mr Yang and ACF had their membership with aggregator Connective OSN Pty Ltd terminated.

In January 2017, Mr Yang, on behalf of ACF, completed and lodged a credit licence annual compliance certificate with ASIC, in which he falsely certified that none of ACF’s fit and proper people had their accreditation cancelled by a lender or their membership with an aggregator terminated.

The offending is contrary to section 225(3) of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions prosecuted the matter after a referral from ASIC.

Background

On 13 February 2021, Mr Yang confirmed that he was pleading guilty to the offence, both in his personal capacity and on behalf of ACF (21-014MR).

Australian credit licence holders are required to identify the people involved in the management of their credit businesses, known as fit and proper people. Mr Yang was at the relevant time the sole fit and proper person of his credit licence. 

Credit licence holders are also required to annually lodge a licence compliance certificate with ASIC, in which licensees are required to certify that they are complying with their credit licence obligations.