The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced on Friday the cancellation of the Australian financial services (AFS) license of two companies: Jels Financial Group Pty Ltd and Selectinvest Pty Ltd.
Jels was granted the AFS license in September 2014, while Selectinvest has been holding it since December 2003.
According to the regulator, Jels failed to demonstrate that it had the competence or resources for providing financial services. Primarily, the company failed to appoint a 'key person' required for the licensing, and its sole corporate authorized representative was also insolvent.
Furthermore, the Victorian financial services provider did not file its audited accounts for the financial year 2017-2019, which is mandatory according to the licensing rules.
In the case of Selectinvest, the regulator pointed out that the financial service provider failed to maintain its external dispute resolution membership with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
Additionally, Selectinvest did not report its annual financial and audit report since 2019.
Despite the cancellation, the companies can now move to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) with an appeal to review ASIC ’s decision.
A Vigilant Regulator
The Australian regulator is vigilant towards the companies offering financial services under its purview. Finance Magnates earlier reported that ASIC suspended 40 licenses in a year, ending in June. However, it also granted 394 new AFS licenses in the same period.
In September, ASIC cancelled the AFS license of forex brokerage Union Standard International Group Pty Ltd (USGFX) as it entered into liquidation.
“We have new powers to refuse a license application where we have been provided false or misleading information or there is an omission of a material matter in an application, report, or statement from an applicant,” ASIC Commissioner, Danielle Press said earlier.
