Australian Securities & Investments Commission bans JB Markets director Peter Aardoom from financial services for eight years

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has banned Brisbane-based Peter Aardoom, a director of JB Markets Pty Ltd, from providing financial services for eight years, including controlling an entity that carries on a financial services business and performing any function involved in such a business. The ban took effect from 19 February 2025. ASIC found that in 2023, as sole director, Mr Aardoom entered into a false loan agreement relating to an AUD 540,000 cash payment made to JB Markets in 2021, despite knowing the payment was for equity rather than a loan, and failed to issue shares within the required timeframe. ASIC also found he provided the false loan agreement and restructuring documents during JB Markets’ small business restructure process to a restructuring practitioner, creditors and ASIC, representing the investing company as a creditor to enable it to vote and diminish other creditors’ voting power, and dishonestly reduced the purported loan in the restructuring plan to keep JB Markets’ total liabilities under the AUD 1 million threshold for a small business restructure. ASIC said this conduct gave it reason to believe he is not a fit and proper person and is likely to contravene a financial services law; the ban is recorded on ASIC’s Banned and Disqualified Persons Register. Mr Aardoom can apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal to review ASIC’s decision. ASIC also noted it cancelled JB Markets’ Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence effective from 12 April 2024, and the firm has applied to the tribunal for review of that cancellation.