Former sole director of Equitable Financial Solutions Pty Ltd (in Liquidation), Usman Siddiqui, has been sentenced in the District Court of NSW for dishonestly using his position as a director.

On 6 August 2026, Judge Anderson SC sentenced Mr Siddiqui to a total term of 6 years and 6 months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 3 years and 3 months.

Mr Siddiqui pleaded guilty on 17 June 2026 to two counts of dishonestly using his position as a director, contrary to section 184(2)(a) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). A third offence was taken into account in sentencing for count 1. Offences against 184(2)(a) of the Corporations Act (Cth) carry a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.

ASIC Chair Sarah Court said, ‘Directors hold positions of trust and are required to act in the best interests of their companies. Mr Siddiqui abused that trust by dishonestly misappropriating company funds for his own benefit.

‘This sentence reflects the seriousness of that conduct and serves as a warning that ASIC will take action against directors who abuse their responsibilities for personal gain.’

Equitable Financial Solutions and other companies controlled by Mr Siddiqui provided Sharia-compliant investment and lending products to members of the Australian Muslim community.

Between May 2019 and October 2019, Mr Siddiqui transferred approximately $1.75 million from Equitable Financial Solutions accounts to his personal accounts and then to accounts he held overseas.

At the time of making the transfers, Mr Siddiqui was aware that the company was in a dire financial position. By the middle of 2019, Mr Siddiqui was aware that the Australian Financial Complaints Authority had made numerous determinations against Equitable Financial Solutions totalling more than $1 million; Equitable Financial Solutions clients were waiting for refunds of their investments totalling approximately $11.3 million; and one of those clients had commenced legal proceedings against Equitable Financial Solutions to recover its investment of $3 million.

On 26 November 2019, Equitable Financial Solutions was placed into liquidation with a determination that by February 2020 it owed more than $20 million to creditors, including Equitable Financial Solutions clients. The Liquidators of Equitable Financial Solutions considered that Equitable Financial Solutions likely became insolvent on around 1 July 2016.

In sentencing Mr Siddiqui, Judge Anderson noted the offending involved multiple occasions of intentional dishonest use of his position. His Honour also noted that general deterrence plays a particularly important role in sentencing for offences committed by white collar criminals.

The matter was investigated by ASIC and prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) (CDPP).

Background

On 8 November 2022, the Federal Court made travel restraint orders against Mt Siddiqui (22-317MR).

On 20 November 2023, Mr Siddiqui was charged with breaches of director duties (23-322MR).