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An NSW agency director has been fined and ordered to undertake a refresher course on trust account management following unusual activity with his business books.
H M Tanvir, the director of an agency operating in Sydney’s south-west, was discovered by NSW Fair Trading to have contravened the Property and Stock Agents Regulation on several instances between 2022 and 2024, for which he has now entered into an enforceable undertaking with the state’s consumer watchdog.
Following an investigation by the agency, a number of instances of irregular trust account handling were uncovered.
In August 2022, Tanvir reportedly withdrew a client’s deposit of $78,000 in trust money held in connection with a property sale, transferred the money into his personal bank account, and used the money to fund a property purchase for himself. The client evidently agreed to this arrangement, having entered into a written agreement with Tanvir to the loan him the trust money at no “interest or financial gain”.
Then, between 11 October 2023 and 01 February 2024, Tanvir reportedly received five payments from property settlement platform PEXA directly into his personal account, only later transferring the money into the company trust account to be disbursed in accordance with client instructions.
Between 21 January 2024 and 31 January 2024, the agency head also reportedly breached his professional obligations on two occasions when he received into his own account money held on behalf of a client to be used in connection with renovations of a property he was selling on the client’s behalf and did not deposit that money into a trust account.
The watchdog also flagged concerns with the accuracy of Tanvir’s ledgers, records of commissions payable, and records of loans he provided to his clients.
Following the investigation and these claims by Fair Trading, Tanvir has agreed to several measures, including having the company trust accounts audited by an auditor authorised by NSW Fair Trading every six months.
He will also enrol in and attend refresher training course on trust accounting for real estate industry agents within six months of endearing into the undertaking with Fair Trading.
Finally, he will pay a “pecuniary penalty” for the indicated contraventions of the act to the tune of $10,000.
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