The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has cancelled the Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence of Leedam Pty Limited. It found that Leedam's leader falsified invoices.

Leedam held its AFS licence from 10 February 2004 until its cancellation on 17 November 2015. It was authorised to provide financial services in relation to general insurance products.

Under the Corporations Act, ASIC has the power to cancel a financial services licence in circumstances where an AFS licensee ceases to carry on its financial services business. ASIC found that Leedam ceased to carry on its financial services business in February 2015. Leedam has a right to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Leedam was formerly known as I&S Insurance Group Pty Limited, incorporated on 15 January 1993. It changed its name to I&S Insurance Broking Group Pty Limited on 19 January 1993 and then to Leedam on 9 February 2015.

On 21 October, ASIC announced that it had permanently banned Mr Isaac Hakim, the sole director of Leedam, from providing financial services.

ASIC's investigation found that between January 2004 and August 2013, Mr Hakim and Leedam engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct in relation to the fees Leedam charged its clients.

On seven occasions, Hakim caused false invoices to be created and sent to clients which overstated the insurance premium being charged and understated the broker fee that Leedam was charging. This gave clients the impression that they were being charged a lower broker fee than was actually the case.

On numerous occasions Leedam also charged its clients broker fees in excess of those disclosed in its financial services guides. It also charged clients broker fees in circumstances where it had received a commission payment from the insurer, contrary to statements in the FSGs. Those excess fees totalled more than $3 million.