DanFX fraudster arrested and extradited to Australia after years on the run
In 2018, Daniel Ali was sentenced to two and half years’ imprisonment, to be suspended after the first six months in prison. His sentence is likely to be reviewed because of his escape to Europe.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has announced that unlicensed foreign exchange trader Daniel Farook Ali has been charged with eight counts of fraud totaling $977,000 by the Brisbane Magistrates Court after being arrested and extradited from Poland.
Daniel Farook Ali had departed Australia on 8 May 2018 during an ongoing ASIC investigation into his conduct, leading to civil proceedings commenced by ASIC against him.
It took more than two years for a Queensland magistrate to issue a warrant in December 2020, following an application by ASIC. Daniel Ali was arrested in Poland a year later, in November 2021. The Polish Government granted his extradition in July 2022 after Mr. Ali consented to being extradited.
The whole operation had the participation of the Australian Federal Police’s Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team, the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s Department, the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP), and Polish authorities in relation.
Daniel Farook Ali appeared in Brisbane Magistrates Court on 18 August 2022 and was remanded in custody to appear again on 2 September 2022.
DanFX raised $13 million from over 200 investors
The matter is being prosecuted by the CDPP following the referral of a brief of evidence from ASIC, which alleges that between May 2016 and November 2017, Daniel Ali dishonestly used funds provided to him by investors for trading and investment purposes for unauthorized purposes, including to buy real estate and luxury cars for his family members and related companies, and to pay returns to other investors.
In some cases, the funds provided to the alleged fraudster by investors had come from investors’ self-managed superannuation accounts, the regulator added.
ASIC commenced proceedings in 2017 alleging that Daniel Ali, through DanFX, operated an unregistered managed investment scheme known as the Daniel Ali Scheme, which raised approximately $13 million from more than 200 investors.
On 23 July 2018, the Court found that:
- Mr Ali, DanFX and two related companies operated the Daniel Ali Scheme, which was a managed investment scheme that was required to be registered under the Corporations Act but was not so registered;
- Mr Ali contravened the Corporations Act by operating the Daniel Ali Scheme without holding an Australian financial services licence; and
- Mr Ali contravened the Corporations Act by managing DanFX and two related companies, despite being disqualified from managing corporations due to a prior conviction for fraud.
In 2018, Daniel Ali was sentenced to two and half years’ imprisonment, to be suspended after the first six months in prison. His sentence is likely to be reviewed because of his escape to Europe.
