Daniel
Kirby, a former director of collapsed FX/CFD provider Berndale Capital, has
pleaded guilty to multiple charges of financial misconduct, Australian
authorities announced today (Wednesday).

Former Berndale Director
Pleads Guilty to Financial Misconduct Charges

Kirby
entered his plea early this week in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, admitting
to one count each of dishonest conduct related to financial services, dishonest
use of his position as a director, and providing false or misleading
information to an auditor.

The guilty
plea comes nearly six years after the Australian Securities and Investments
Commission (ASIC) canceled
Berndale’s financial services license in
November 2018, citing compliance failures and inadequate staff training.

According
to ASIC, Kirby illegally transferred company funds for personal benefit and to
associates both before and immediately after the license cancellation. Some
transfers reportedly occurred within hours of the regulatory action.

The former director of collapsed OTC derivatives provider Berndale Capital Securities has pleaded guilty to three charges. He illegally transferred company funds to benefit himself and associates before and immediately after we cancelled Berndale’s licence https://t.co/IE6ytKB4EM

— ASIC Media (@asicmedia) September 18, 2024

Authorities
also allege that Kirby provided false documentation to Berndale’s auditor
regarding overseas bank account balances. These accounts were either
nonexistent or contained far less money than reported, violating requirements
for the company to maintain minimum asset levels.

“Berndale’s
Australian financial services licence required it to maintain a minimum level
of net tangible assets of at least the greater of $1million or 10% of its
average revenue,” ASIC
commented in the press release. “The relevant overseas funds and accounts
either did not exist or were grossly inaccurate.”

Kirby’s
case has been referred to the Federal Court of Australia for sentencing, with
an initial appearance scheduled for September 30. This marks the first ASIC
prosecution to proceed in the Federal Court under recent legislative changes
expanding its jurisdiction over corporate criminal matters.

The Collapse of Berndale

In a
related development, Stavro D’Amore, another former Berndale director charged
alongside Kirby, has pleaded not guilty and been committed to stand trial.
D’Amore was previously banned from providing financial services for six years
in 2018.

D’Amore was
previously associated with the broker FXTG, which also reportedly came under
the scrutiny of the Australian regulator. In 2016, there were reports that the
firm allegedly
owes investors around $2 million. It is worth noting that Kirby was also connected
with FXTG as the Chief Operations Officer.

The
collapse of Berndale and its associated companies led to their liquidation in
2019, a process that remains ongoing. Creditors and former clients of
Berndale have been advised to contact the appointed liquidators for further
information.

However, in
2020, The Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) indicated that
recovering funds belonging to clients was
unlikely.

Recently, Finance
Magnates reported on another high-profile
case in Australia. Specifically, Tony Iervasi, the former director of
Courtenay House, has been sentenced to 11 years behind bars. The fraud, which
lasted for over half a decade, led to a net loss of $54 million for
approximately 585 investors.