New Zealand Financial Markets Authority secures conviction, NZD 15,000 fine and 7-year prohibition for former adviser David McEwen for breaching stop order

The New Zealand Financial Markets Authority announced that former financial adviser David McEwen has been convicted on four charges of breaching an FMA stop order and has been prohibited for seven years from being a director or promoter or being involved in company management in New Zealand, as well as from providing financial advice services. The court also fined him NZD 15,000 and dismissed his application for a discharge without conviction. McEwen pleaded guilty in November 2025 to breaching a 2023 stop order intended to prevent material financial harm to his clients, with the offending conduct described as similar to the conduct that led to the stop order. The breaches included offering and issuing financial products and associated restricted communications linked to Cosmopolitan Holdings 2024 Pty Ltd, incorporated in Singapore on 11 November 2023, which resulted in investor payments totalling NZD 173,000; offering and issuing financial products and restricted communications in relation to Agtech 3 Ltd, which was captured by the stop order; and issuing units in the International Opportunities Partnership, created in July 2024, which purported to replace investors’ existing products without consent and involved collecting “administration fees”, with 23 investors paying NZD 17,046.49 by 8 August 2024. The release also notes prior FMA warnings about products associated with McEwen and complaints suggesting possible unauthorised credit and debit card payments.