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The Queensland man encouraged investors to set up an SMSF then channel funds into crypto assets in his business.
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Unlicensed director faces 9 charges for steering SMSFs into own company
06 February 2024
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8 minute read
Queensland-based company director Aryn Hala has been charged with nine offences of carrying on a financial services business without a licence following an ASIC investigation.
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The corporate regulator said the charges followed an investigation into conduct by Mr Hala where he promised consumers annual returns of at least 10 to 20 per cent in investments that included crypto-assets in a company directed by him, A One Multi Services.
The regulator said Mr Hala encouraged consumers to establish an SMSF and roll over their existing super into the new fund, then invest with Mr Hala’s company.
Mr Hala is currently on bail with the matter scheduled for further mention on 15 April. The maximum penalty for each offence is five years of imprisonment.
In 2021, ASIC obtained court orders against Mr Hala preventing him from disposing of, dealing with or otherwise diminishing certain assets. ASIC also obtained court orders against A One Multi Services.
At the time, the regulator alleged that between 1 January 2019 and 30 June 2021, approximately $25 million was deposited into the business’s accounts by over 60 consumers and that Mr Hala used more than $5.7 million of the money for his and fellow director Heidi Walters’s benefit, including acquiring property and luxury cars in their names.
Since then, court-appointed receivers have been unable to recover a large portion of assets provided to A One Multi Services by various investors, particularly those that were transferred to crypto-assets.
ASIC said the charges and proceedings formed part of its enforcement action over suspected unlicensed financial advice.
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