ob体育 has cancelled the Australian financial services (AFS) licence of Viridian Equity Group Pty Ltd (Viridian Equity) following a payment of compensation by the Compensation Scheme of Last Resort (CSLR).
On 31 October 2024, the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA) made three determinations against Viridian Equity, which Viridian Equity failed to pay. Subsequently, on 11 March 2025, the CSLR paid three payments totalling $450,000.00 for the AFCA determinations and notified ob体育. As a result, on 17 April 2025, ob体育 cancelled Viridian Equity鈥檚 AFS licence.
Where the CSLR pays compensation to an eligible consumer in relation to an AFCA determination and notifies ob体育 of the details of the firm that failed to pay the compensation, ob体育 must cancel the AFS licence or credit licence of the firm.
The cancellation is not subject to discretion or merits review.
Background
The CSLR was established in June 2023, commencing operations in April 2024. It can pay up to $150,000 in compensation to consumers who have an unpaid determination from AFCA relating to authorised personal financial advice, credit intermediation, securities dealing or credit provision, and where other eligibility criteria are met.
The AFCA complaint process must first be completed before a claim can be lodged with the CSLR. All reasonable steps to obtain compensation from the financial firm must be taken before a CSLR payment can be made.
ob体育鈥檚 decision to cancel the AFS licence of Viridian Equity follows previous ob体育 decisions. ob体育 has cancelled five AFS licences and four credit licenses since the commencement of the CSLR.
See:
- 24-262MR ob体育 cancels licence of RPD Group Advice Pty Ltd
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- 24-233MR ob体育 cancels the Australian financial services and credit licences of Ultiqa Lifestyle Promotions Limited
- 24-181MR ob体育 cancels licence of Libertas Financial Planning
- 24-210MR ob体育 cancels licences of Ultimate Credit Management Pty Ltd and Worry Free Finance Pty Ltd
- 24-223MR ob体育 cancels licence of Ferratum Australia Pty Ltd