AMMB Holdings, an associate of ANZ, will pay US$1.6 million to settle allegations that it breached its fiduciary duty by charging a US fund for advisory services it never provided,
Reuters reported.
AMMB Consultant Sendirian Bhd, an investment adviser in Malaysia, charged the fees from 1996 to 2007. The firm did not admit or deny the allegations
The SEC action, which commenced in November 2011, concerned the Malaysia Fund Inc, a closed-ended equity mutual fund.
The fund had two co-managers: Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc (MSIM) and AMMB Consultant Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of AMMB).
According to the SEC's writ, MSIM, as primary investment adviser to the fund, falsely "represented to investors and the fund's board that the fund's Malaysian sub-adviser was providing certain services that the sub-adviser in fact was not providing."