Former ANZ planner gets permanent ban

Kenneth David Drake, a former adviser with ANZ-aligned Millenium 3 Financial Services, was banned after pleading guilty and being convicted of two counts of stealing in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on 5 April 2016, following an investigation by Tasmania Police.

Mr Drake was sentenced to six and a half years' jail and will be eligible for parole after serving half of that term.

The charges related to Mr Drake stealing a total of $940,935.09 from two elderly clients of his financial services practice.

Mr Drake's offences occurred over a period of approximately six years and involved 64 unauthorised transactions on the clients' accounts. On a number of occasions, Mr Drake forged the signatures of the clients to facilitate the stealing.

ASIC deputy chairman Peter Kell said, "ASIC will act to remove people from the financial services industry who act dishonestly and breach the trust of their clients."

The ban took effect on 23 May 2016.

Mr Drake has the right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of ASIC's decision.