MAS bars ex-DBS rep from financial advisory work for 5 years

Hafiz was convicted to one count of abetting an offense on May 2022.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has barred Muhammad Hafiz Bin Ismail from providing any financial advisory service or being involved to any financial advisory firm or capital market services firm for 5 years.

Under the prohibition order (PO), which took effect from 20 May, he is prohibited from providing any financial advisory service, and from taking part in the management, acting as a director, or becoming a substantial shareholder, of any financial advisory firm. 

He is also prohibited from performing any regulated activity and from taking part in the management, acting as a director, or becoming a substantial shareholder, of any capital markets services firm.

Hafiz, a former wealth planning manager for DBS, was convicted in May 2022 to one count of abetting an offense and of obstruction of justice under section 204A read with section 108B and section 109 of the Penal Code. He was sentenced to 1 week of imprisonment.

This is after Hafiz reportedly directed a colleague to move the safe belonging to his uncle from his business premises in January 2018. Prior to this, the police had earlier informed him that his uncle had been arrested for theft-related offences.

Whilst under investigation, Hafiz applied to become a wealth planning manager for DBS in September 2020. He failed to state in a declaration to DBS that he was under investigation.

By wilfully omitting such pertinent information in his declaration, Hafiz has contravened section 23L(2)(b) of the FAA, and section 99O(2)(b) of the SFA.