KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 1 — The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has reprimanded and fined former Kenanga Investors Berhad (KIB) unit trust consultant Amran Mohd Amin RM687,500 for three violations of securities laws. The SC’s decisions took effect on 26 June 2024.
According to a statement released by the SC today, Amran had misappropriated the RM215,000 from four potential investors who wanted to invest in a unit trust fund with KIB between January 2022 and January 2023.
“The SC found that Amran had instead utilised the potential investors’ funds by depositing them in his own unit trust investment account,” it said in a statement today.
The SC said Amran had also given falsified statements of accounts to two of the investors, which gave the “false impression” that the unit trusts had been purchased for them.
According to the statement, the SC had given Amran the chance to respond to the breaches and SC’s decision but he did not file any review against the decision within the required period.
The SC stated that the RM687,500 fine against Amran is the latest in its enforcement action against unit trust consultants (UTCs) for misconduct, adding that these sanctions send “a strong message that any misconduct will not be tolerated”.
Don’t send money to unit trust consultants’ personal bank accounts
The SC said it had since 2020, it has taken action against nine for misconduct, including accepting cash and getting investors to send money to their personal bank accounts for investments in unit trusts, and giving statements with false or misleading information to clients.
“The SC reminds all UTCs to act with honesty, integrity and in the best interests of their clients, in order to safeguard the integrity of the capital market,” it said.
The SC said fund management firms and unit trust companies also need to do their part, including carrying out regular due diligence and checking sources of funds since they are responsible for managing investors’ monies.
The SC said investors should take precautions to avoid falling victim to rogue unit trust consultants by not sending money for investment purposes to the personal bank accounts of these consultants or unauthorised bank accounts.
