The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned Gregory Finerty, the sole director of Gold Coast company Bradford AI, for four years from offering financial services. He is blamed for leasing an algorithmic trading program for training forex contracts for differences (CFDs) contracts.

ASIC Bans Bradford AI Director for Four Years

According to the order, Finerty has been banned from controlling any financial services business, both alone or in partnership. Additionally, he cannot associate with any activities related to offering financial services.

The Aussie regulatory action against Finerty came as he offered financial services without an Australian financial services (AFS) license and engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct.

Bradford AI Leased a Trading Bot

ASIC’s announcement on Monday detailed that Bradford AI leased an automated trading program called Robot1. From around January 2020 to at least the end of December 2021, Finerty allowed clients to trade foreign currency CFDs while the company did not hold a license to offer such services. The company tapped the services of another Australia-based CFDs broker to provide the services to its clients.

CFDs are leveraged counterparty instruments and are regarded as very risky. ASIC heavily regulates the offerings of such instruments as Aussie companies offering training services need to have an AFS license.

In its action against Bradford AI, the regulator found that Finerty misled the clients on the performance of the trading robot. Additionally, he “directed or assisted” clients to mislead the CFD broker about their trading experience.

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Moreover, ASIC concluded that Finerty is “not a fit and proper person to provide financial services, is not adequately trained or competent to provide financial services, and is likely to contravene financial services law.”

However, Finerty can appeal against the regulator’s order to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). Recently, the AAT upheld ASIC’s decision for the cancellation of the license of Olive Financial Markets Pty Ltd (Olive) in a separate case.

Meanwhile, ASIC is bringing new laws to mandate foreign financial services brokers taking Aussie clients to report their local transactions.