Australia regulator cancels licenses, seeks receivers in coordinated enforcement sweep
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission launched a coordinated enforcement wave against financial advisers, issuing nine enforcement actions in three days including permanent bans, multi-year prohibitions, license cancellations, and court proceedings. Aristotle Papapavlou and Yanhua (Scott) Chen were permanently banned from the industry, while David Lofthouse received a three-year prohibition for providing inappropriate advice to six clients.
The regulator canceled the AFS license of The Silverfern Group and sought court-appointed receivers to investigate a proposed $50,000 sale of Interprac Financial Planning. Rhys Reilly was banned for 10 years after accepting $100,000 in conflicted remuneration.
The breadth of actions—spanning April 7-10, 2026—signals a systemic crackdown on advisers who prioritized their own interests over client welfare. Australian investors should verify their adviser's disciplinary history on the ASIC registers.
Sources
ASIC Bans Financial Adviser Lofthouse for 3 Years
ASIC Bans Former ISG Director for 10 Years
ASIC Seeks Receiver Over $677M Interprac Sale
ASIC Cancels AFS Licence of The Silverfern Group Pty Ltd
ASIC Permanently Bans Financial Adviser Papapavlou
ASIC Permanently Bans Chen From Financial Services
ASIC Bans Rhys Reilly for 10 Years, Suspends Conexus
ASIC Bans Financial Adviser 5 Years for Advice Failures
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