ASIC permanently bans AR

A securities authorised representative who allegedly made unauthorised transfers of shares into the trading account of a business in which he held an interest has been permanently banned by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

The regulator announced today that it had permanently banned Roderick Halligan of Brisbane from providing financial services or having any involvement in a financial services business.

Announcing the banning, ASIC said that between 1 June 2015 to 22 October 2020, Halligan was an authorised representative of Australian financial services licensee BR Securities Australia Pty Ltd. It said Halligan’s company Halligan Securities Pty Ltd, of which Halligan was sole director, was a corporate authorised representative of BR Securities Australia Pty Ltd during the same period.

ASIC found that Halligan transferred shares in excess of $550,000 from his clients’ accounts into the trading account of Santorini Sun Pty Ltd, a business in which he held an interest, without client authorisation. Halligan then sold these shares to the benefit of Santorini Sun and himself.

ASIC also found that Halligan engaged in conduct designed to cause his clients to believe that they still had the shares he had transferred without authorisation.

In permanently banning Halligan, ASIC found that he was not a fit and proper person to provide financial services. ASIC also found he had failed in his legal obligations not to mislead or deceive and was likely to continue to contravene financial services laws.

Halligan has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.

The ASIC announcement noted Halligan’s conduct had been reported by BR Securities on 26 October 2020 and reimbursed his clients for their losses before subsequently being reimbursed by Halligan.