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04 March 2026

Former NZ financial adviser sentenced for breaching stop order

Media Release  
MR No. 2026 – 06

Former financial advisor David McEwen has been convicted of four charges of breaching an FMA Stop Order. He has been banned from being a director or promoter, or involved in the management, of a company in New Zealand and for providing financial advice services for 7 years.

He has also been fined $15,000 and his application for a discharge without conviction was dismissed.

The penalties come after he pleaded guilty in November 2025 to four charges relating to breaching a 2023 Stop Order, imposed by Financial Markets Authority (FMA) – Te Mana Tātai Hokohoko.

FMA Head of Enforcement Margot Gatland said the Stop Order was made to prevent material financial harm to Mr McEwen’s clients.

“We focus our enforcement actions on preventing and addressing significant harm to consumers, markets and our financial system. Mr McEwen breached our Stop Order in various ways almost immediately after it was made, after he had left New Zealand.”

The conduct that breached the Stop Order was similar to the conduct that caused the FMA to issue the Stop Order.

“He continued to seek money from former clients and obtained around $17,000 after the Stop Order was issued.”

The FMA has previously issued warnings about financial products offered by Mr McEwen or businesses associated with him.  

This includes advising former and existing clients to check their credit and debit card statements for possible unauthorised payments. The FMA received complaints from his clients where it was suspected that credit and debit card payments had been made on their accounts without their authority.

Previous FMA warnings and our media releases which are linked to Mr McEwen and associated entities can be found here:

David McEwen | Financial Markets Authority

Ends

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Background

Mr McEwen breached the terms of the Stop Order in three ways, by:

a. Offering and issuing financial products, and associated restricted communications, in relation to Cosmopolitan Holdings 2024 Pty Ltd, an entity Mr McEwen incorporated in Singapore on 11 November 2023 (after the FMA had begun investigating him but before making the Stop Order). In response to those offers investors made payments totalling $173,000.

b. Offering and issuing financial products, and associated restricted communications, in relation to Agtech 3 Ltd, an entity captured by the Stop Order.

c. Issuing units in the International Opportunities Partnership, an investment vehicle Mr McEwen created in July 2024 (after the Stop Order was made). These units purported to replace, without investor consent, financial products that investors held in relation to other entities associated with Mr McEwen. In return, Mr McEwen asked investors for an “administration fee” which would be incurred by all investors “based on the value of each investment … to assist with costs associated with formation of the partnership and issuance of units”. These units were issued to an unknown number of investors. By 8 August 2024, 23 investors had paid $17,046.49 to Mr McEwen for this “administration fee”.