The Central Coast planner Paul Drakos was banned in 2004 by ASIC from providing financial services after he swindled almost $6 million dollars from his clients. The case was pursued in New South Wales District Court following ASIC's investigation. Drakos pleaded guilty to crimes committed during his time at NAB, according to an ASIC statement released last week. These were eight counts of dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, two counts of fraudulent misappropriation and three counts of making and using false documents.
The 54 year old was with NAB from October 1994 until 2001. Alerted by a customer complaint, NAB suspended Drakos in August 2001 and fired him in October that year after further inquiry. Drakos had made recommendations to a number of NAB clients to invest in BSI Corp - not a NAB approved investment product – telling them it was a subsidiary of Barclays Bank, which was not true.
Drakos instructed offshore agents working with BSI to transfer funds back to accounts he personally controlled, including a private company account Strategic Investments Group, using the money for his own purposes. After a number of failed business projects, Drakos was declared bankrupt in June 2003 and all his private company investment vehicles are in liquidation.
