ASIC has permanently banned Mr Ishan Seenar Sappideen, of Bellevue Hill, New South Wales, from providing financial services after an ASIC investigation found he misled investors, created false documents and was not of good fame or character.
ASIC’s investigation found that in 2012, Mr Sappideen dishonestly induced investors to invest $500,000 with him by falsely representing he had access to an exclusive deal involving the Facebook initial public offering. ASIC found that Mr Sappideen did not use the funds for the deal involving Facebook, which never existed. At the time of the conduct, Mr Sappideen did not hold an Australian financial services (AFS) licence and was an authorised representative of an AFS licensee.
ASIC’s investigation also found that in 2012 and 2013, Mr Sappideen falsely represented that he made a number of investments in a Chicago-based futures merchant, Advantage Futures LLC (Advantage).
ASIC found Mr Sappideen created a number of false emails and trading statements purporting to be from Advantage. One of the false statements purported to show an account with a market value worth over $3 billion. ASIC found Mr Sappideen had only held one account with Advantage, and during the life of the account it had only received total deposits of approximately US$200,000.
ASIC found that Mr Sappideen was not of good fame or character.
Mr Sappideen has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC’s decision.
Background
Mr Sappideen has been charged by the NSW Police in relation to a range of matters including those covered by ASIC’s investigation. That matter is currently before the courts.
