The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has reported that Daniel Farook Ali, once a director of DanFX Trade Pty Ltd., has received a prison sentence of seven years and three months.
DanFX Trade Director Jailed For Fraud
On 3 May 2024, Ali pled guilty to five charges of fraud amounting to $771,303 AUD, after which the Brisbane District Court imposed the sentence on 27 May 2024. He allegedly misappropriated the trading and investment funds of clients.
According to ASIC, DanFX Trade ran an unlicensed foreign exchange. The financial watchdog found that between May 2016 and November 2017, Ali pilfered investor funds to buy a BMW motor vehicle for an associate and pay for personal real estate and expenses. Instead of investing the money, he also used it to reimburse returns to other investors.
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Upon referral from ASIC, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions instituted civil proceedings against Ali. During sentencing, Judge Heaton KC said that Ali’s transgressions were sophisticated and that he “exploited the trust of his victims” over a length of time. He added that his actions “contributed to particularly devastating financial positions for those victims”.
Ali is eligible for parole and his first review is set for 5 July 2024. The court considered time already spent in custody in its sentencing resolution.
Ali left Australia in May 2018 while the watchdog was investigating his financial conduct. An arrest order was issued in 2019. He was eventually arrested in November 2021 in Poland, and in 2022 he was extradited to Australia, where he remained in custody.
