The former Aussie finance broker who pled guilty to breaching the ASIC order banning him from engaging in credit activity has received his sentencing.
On 16 June 2020, in the Downing Centre Local Court, Shiv Prakash Sahay was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of nine months; however, the period of imprisonment was wholly suspended immediately upon Sahay entering into a nine-month good behaviour bond in the amount of $1,000.
Following the sentencing, Aussie has publicly supported ASIC’s actions against Sahay, and provided clarity around the timeline of its involvement with the ex-broker.
“In August 2013, Aussie identified potential breaches of its strict code of conduct and legal, credit and compliance obligations by Mr Sahay,” the group said in a statement.
“Aussie immediately suspended Mr Sahay’s contract, which was then terminated on 9 August 2013 after serious breaches were confirmed [and] proactively assisted ASIC in providing documentation and supporting evidence to assist them in their original investigation which commenced in 2013.”
ASIC permanently banned Sahay from engaging in credit activity on 6 October 2015 following his conviction on 7 July of the same year for various fraud-related offences.
However, the court came to find that between 8 October 2015 and 2 October 2018, Sahay continued to engage in credit activity in relation to 38 credit contracts for loans totalling over $17 million and resulting in $111,064 of earned commissions.
"Aussie understands that Mr Sahay subsequently breached an ASIC banning order by engaging in credit activity. Such credit activity was not associated with Aussie," the statement continued.
“Aussie continues its zero-tolerance policy to any infringements and prides itself on upholding some of the most stringent compliance processes in the industry.
“As part of its governance activity, Aussie proactively and voluntarily reports any serious breaches of broker conduct to ASIC.”
Aussie made clear it supported Sahay’s permanent banning handed down in 2015, and is “pleased” to see the action taken in court this week following Sahay’s failure to comply with said banning.
