Mr Charles Phillip Grummisch, 58, of Warrandyte, Victoria, has been banned from providing financial services for ten years by ASIC.

ASIC has also cancelled the Australian Financial Services licence held by Riverfield Australia Pty Ltd, a company of which Mr Grummisch is the sole director, for failing to comply with financial services law.

Mr Grummisch or companies he controlled have traded as Ascension Financial Strategies (Ascension) since April 1996. Riverfield Australia traded as Ascension from February 2006, when it was issued a licence.

Between April 1996 to August 2009, Mr Grummisch advised approximately 200 clients to invest over $13 million in shares in a Vanuatu company, Ishaya Capital Ltd (previously Oriental Pacific Ltd) (OPL). These funds, including self managed superannuation investments, were transferred via a New Zealand company, Pacific Oriental Investments Ltd, into Australian start-up businesses and property ventures in which Mr Grummisch had an interest.

The delegate found that, based on Mr Grummisch’s conduct between December 1997 and August 2009, he had not complied with financial services laws and was unlikely to comply with financial services laws in the future.

Mr Grummisch and Riverfield Australia have the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.

Further details are available at ASIC.