ASIC Places 6 months Ban on Director of Global Merces Funds Management Ltd

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced this Friday that it has banned Holly Marie Grofski, the director of Global Merces Funds Management Ltd (Global Merces), for a period of six months.

Ms Grofski will be banned to control, whether alone or together with others, any company or other entity that carries on a financial services business until 28 October 2021.

As detailed in the official announcement, Ms Grofski was involved in Global Merces’ failure to comply with its Australian financial services (AFS) licence conditions. Global Merces failed to replace key persons named on its licence. In addition, the company also failed to lodge the compliance plan audit reports for its registered managed investment schemes and its own financial statements and auditors’ reports for the 2018 and 2019 financial years.

Global Merces held AFS licence no. 460883 from February 26, 2015. Following the voluntary appointment of an administrator to Global Merces on 13 January 2020, ASIC suspended Global Merces’ licence on 21 January 2020 for a period of six months (20-012MR) and cancelled the licence on 20 July 2020.

Ms Grofski has the right to seek a review of ASIC’s decision at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The banning of Ms Grofski demonstrates that ASIC will take action against senior management of AFS licensees’ if they fail to ensure that the licensee complies with its obligations under the Corporations Act.