Asic bans former Westpac manager

The corporate watchdog has banned a former Northbridge-based bank manager from providing financial services for stealing up to $515,000 during his tenure.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has permanently banned Darren Arnold from providing financial services, for his actions while he was bank manager of a Westpac branch in Northbridge.

“Between December 2013 and March 2014, Mr Arnold used his position as a bank manager to make unauthorised withdrawals from various bank accounts in a friend’s name, totalling $515,000,” Asic said in a statement.

“Asic banned Mr Arnold after he was convicted and sentenced in August 2015, in separate proceedings in the District Court, of nine counts of stealing as a servant and one count of gaining a benefit by fraud.”

At his sentencing in August where he was jailed for four years, the District Court heard that Mr Arnold had a gambling addiction and about $200,000 of unsecured loans in his name.

After first being caught by Westpac investigators, he resigned from his position and took up a job at the Bank of Queensland, omitting his reason for leaving Westpac because he hadn’t been charged.

He resigned from Bank of Queensland after a tip-off that he had been caught stealing while at Westpac.