Ban reduced for Perth accountant

Keith Bowker, who was previously banned for six years from providing financial services, has received a reduced ban of two years after appealing the Australian Securities and Investments Commission decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Mr Bowker was formerly company secretary at NKWE Platinum and a director of KBH Corporate, which was placed into voluntary administration in 2019.

The six-year ban, handed down in April last year, followed an investigation by ASIC into Mr Bowker’s conduct when he applied for and sold shares between November 2016 and March 2017.

ASIC alleged Mr Bowker sold shares on behalf of other people without their knowledge or consent, and provided false information and engaged in conduct relating to a financial product that was misleading or deceptive, or was likely to mislead or deceive.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal agreed with ASIC’s original decision but found, however, Mr Bowker did not ultimately gain financially from his conduct.

The tribunal said the reduced ban was a result of the accountant’s incidental involvement in the provision of financial services in his practice.

“The AAT found that at the time of the hearing, Mr Bowker no longer held an intention to establish a broking firm which would have involved him providing financial services and therefore was unlikely to be in a position to breach a financial services law in the foreseeable future,” the tribunal said.