Raine & Horne Leumeah director HM Tanvir agrees to pay $10,000 penalty, undergo ‘refresher training’ after watchdog investigation

The director of a southwest Sydney real estate agency says he is “deeply sorry” after he was busted breaching industry standards, including by borrowing a client’s $78,000 deposit from a trust fund.

H M Tanvir, the sole director of Raine & Horne in Leumeah.

The director of a southwest Sydney real estate agency says he is “deeply sorry” after he was busted breaching industry standards, including by borrowing a client’s money from a trust fund to pay for a property purchase in his own name.

H M Tanvir, the sole director of Raine & Horne in Leumeah, has agreed to pay a $10,000 penalty and undergo “refresher training” following an audit of his financial records by Fair Trading NSW.

Fair Trading launched the investigators after receiving a complaint last year relating to the alleged misappropriation of trust account money by Mr Tanvir during his time as a licensee in charge of a previous company.

During the investigation, Fair Trading said it had identified non-compliant behaviour, including Mr Tanvir withdrawing a client’s deposit of $78,000 in trust money.

The money was being held in connection with a property sale in 2022, but Mr Tanvir transferred it into his personal bank account and used it to fund a property purchase for himself.

According to Fair Trading, Mr Tanvir had entered into a written agreement with the client to loan him the trust money “at no interest or financial gain” to the client.

H M Tanvir is the director of Raine & Horne in Leumeah.

During the investigation, Fair Trading said it discovered a number of other transactions involving trust money were not in full compliance with requirements of industry regulations.

Fair Trading stated it had further concerns about the “accuracy of ledgers kept by (Mr Tanvir), records of commissions payable, and records of loans (he) claimed he provided to his clients.”

Between October 11 last year and February 1 this year, Fair Trading stated Mr Tanvir breached industry standards on five occasions when he received five property exchange payments directly into his personal account, prior to the money being transferred into the trust account to be disbursed in accordance with client instructions.

Mr Tanvir also breached standards on two occasions in January by receiving money, which was to be held on behalf of a client for renovations, into his own account, and failing to deposit it into a trust account.

He has now signed an enforceable undertaking, in which he has “acknowledged” all concerns regarding the contraventions identified by Fair Trading.

As part of the undertaking, Mr Tanvir has agreed to pay a $10,000 penalty and to have his businesses trust accounts audited by an external auditor approved by Fair Trading.

Mr Tanvir will also have to establish a new trust accounting policy and procedures for the company, under which all money received on behalf of clients will be correctly deposited.

The enforceable undertaking, signed by Mr Tanvir on October 3, will remain in place for two years.

In a statement to this masthead, Mr Tanvir said: “I regret that I have made some errors for which I am deeply sorry.”

I have remained dedicated and committed to working closely and transparently with the Office of Fair Trading to ensure that this matter is resolved completely,” he said.

“I am in regular ongoing communication with the Office of Fair Trading, including the undertaking of auditing and compliance training, and my clients have been kept informed about the situation.”