ASIC bans former Perth accountant

A former Perth accountant who was sentenced to eight years in prison for multiple fraud charges has been permanently banned from providing financial services by the corporate watchdog.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission said it had banned Arden Rodrick Wittensleger from providing financial services and engaging in credit activity.

Wittensleger was convicted in August last year in the District Court of 86 counts of gaining a benefit by fraud, following an investigation by Western Australian police.

The 44-year-old Menora man was found guilty of submitting fraudulent loan applications to obtain a benefit of around $6.5 million and sentenced in October last year to a total term of imprisonment of eight years.

Wittensleger was also sentenced to time in jail in the 1990s on similar charges.

ASIC said it found Wittensleger's conduct extremely serious, showing a persistent pattern of deception to gain a financial advantage.

"The functions and duties of a person providing financial services and engaging in credit activity require high standards of honesty and integrity," ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer said.

"Those who engage in serious, repeated fraud have no place in the financial services industry."

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