DisciplinaryNews
Allegations of misconduct against AAT members are investigated by the Professional Standards team, using AAT’s disciplinary process. Please note: the following is only a summary; full details are at bit.ly/disciplinary-outcomes
All sanctions are determined in line with AAT’s Indicative Sanctions Guidance and reflect the particular circumstances and available evidence present in each case. All allegations of misconduct were valid at time of publication.
Eamon Smart (3018) committed multiple breaches of the Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) and provided services outside the scope of his licence. He was fined £2,500 and severely reprimanded. The severe reprimand will remain live on his record for two years.
Hugo Wastnage (10120879) committed multiple breaches of the MLR. He was fined £1,500 and severely reprimanded. The severe reprimand will remain live on his record for two years.
Izabela Stanita (20094714) committed multiple breaches of the MLR and provided services outside the scope of her licence. She was fined £500 and severely reprimanded. The severe reprimand will remain live on her record for two years.
Katherine-Anne Fare (232686) committed multiple breaches of the MLR and failed to have in place a continuity of practice agreement in full compliance with AAT’s Continuity of Practice Policy. She was fined £2,000, severely reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership for a period of two years. The severe reprimand will remain live on her record for two years.
Louise Mellor (277872) committed multiple breaches of the MLR, failed to maintain an adequate level of professional indemnity insurance (PII) and failed to hold clients’ money in full compliance with AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy. She was fined £1,750, reprimanded, warned and deemed ineligible to hold AAT fellow membership status for a period of three years. The reprimand will remain live on her record for three years.
Moazam Zulfiqar (20337910) provided and/or held himself out to be providing self-employed accountancy services to the public without a licence, was sanctioned by another professional body whilst a member of AAT and failed to notify AAT of the sanction within 30 days. He was fined £1,909, reprimanded, warned and deemed ineligible to hold AAT fellow membership status for a period of two years. The reprimand will remain live on his record for two years.
Nicholas Grindrod (267198) committed multiple breaches of the MLR, provided services without holding the required level of PII and provided services outside the scope of his licence. He was fined £1,500, severely reprimanded and removed from AAT fellow membership status for a period of two years. The severe reprimand will remain live on his record for two years.
Paula King (282076) provided services outside the scope of her licence. She was fined £2,000 and severely reprimanded. The severe reprimand will remain live on her record for two years.
Robin Stride (412) committed multiple breaches of the MLR. He was fined £5,000 and severely reprimanded. The severe reprimand will remain live on his record for three years.
Shadiff Garlani-Edwards (20095768) was convicted of three indictable offences under Section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1987. He was fined £500 and expelled from membership of AAT for a period of 10 years.
Stephen Light (10019628) failed to carry out adequate ongoing risk monitoring in respect of one or more clients and failed to maintain adequate PII coverage. He was fined £1,500 and reprimanded. The reprimand will remain live on his record for two years.
Viktoria Ujj (10109052) committed multiple breaches of the MLR and provided services outside the scope of her licence. She was fined £1,250, reprimanded, warned and deemed ineligible to hold AAT fellow membership status for a period of two years. The reprimand will remain live on her record for two years.
Vladimir Pristoupa (211908) provided self-employed accountancy services without a licence and without appropriate Anti Money Laundering (AML) supervision. He was fined £1,000, severely reprimanded and expelled from membership of AAT for a period of three years. The severe reprimand will remain live on his record for three years.
Wayne McCormack (10086009) committed multiple breaches of the MLR, failed to have an adequate continuity of practice agreement in place, failed to have an adequate client complaints procedure, failed to hold clients’ money in full compliance with AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy, breached the fundamental principle of Objectivity as enshrined in the Code of Professional Ethics and received and retained commissions without client consent. He was fined £2,000, severely reprimanded, warned and removed from AAT fellow membership status for a period of three years. The severe reprimand will remain live on his record for three years.
Zeta Hewings (10323741) committed multiple breaches of the MLR, failed to have an adequate continuity of practice agreement in place, failed to have an adequate client complaints procedure, failed to hold clients’ money in full compliance with AAT’s Clients’ Money Policy, breached the fundamental principle of Objectivity as enshrined in the Code of Professional Ethics and received and retained commissions without client consent. She was fined £2,000, severely reprimanded, warned and deemed ineligible to hold AAT fellow membership status for a period of three years. The severe reprimand will remain live on her record for three years.
In addition to the above, Professional Standards terminated the licences and memberships of an additional 18 members for failure to complete the mandatory annual AML return.
For more information on AAT’s licence requirements, visit aat.org.uk/about-aat/professional-standards/aat-licensing
