The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has banned Ben Jayaweera, an advisor, from ever supplying retail clients with advice again.

Jayaweera committed the sin of recommending an investment to clients in an unregistered aqua agriculture investment scheme without reasonably considering their goals and financial situation. Growth Plus operated the scheme. The recommended investments were not consistent with the clients' risk profiles and exposed their pension benefits to inappropriate levels of risk. ASIC also thought that Jayaweera may have failed to: (i) act in the best interests of clients in relation to personal advice; (ii) ensure that the advice was appropriate; and (iii) ensure that when providing advice, he prioritised his clients' interests before his own or those of Growth Plus.