Australia’s financial regulator has banned Scott Logan, of Torquay, Victoria, from providing financial services for seven years after an investigation found he breached numerous financial services laws as a director and sole employee of Shore Capital.

Australia’s financial regulator has banned Scott Logan, of Torquay, Victoria, from providing financial services for seven years after an investigation found he breached numerous financial services laws as a director and sole employee of Shore Capital.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission found that between April 2011 and June 2013, Shore Capital, trading as Coast Capital, traded in contracts for difference on behalf of retail clients when it was not authorised to do so. Shore Capital initially traded on behalf of retail clients without holding an Australian financial services licence. It later traded on behalf of retail clients when it held an AFS licence for the provision of services to wholesale customers only, ASIC said in a statement.

Logan also made numerous false or misleading representations to Shore Capital clients as to: Shore Capital's authorisation to provide financial services, and the fees charged by Shore Capital, the regulator said in a statement on its website.

At least three clients lost a combined total of over $38,000 through the unauthorised trading, ASIC said.

Shore Capital's AFS licence was cancelled on 16 October 2014 as it no longer operates a financial services business.