Former FAI Group Reinsurance Manager Stephen Burroughs has failed in his attempt to overturn a banning order preventing him from holding a senior position at a general insurer.

The Administration Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has upheld his disqualification, but has held out some hope that his banning won’t be forever.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) banned Mr Burroughs – now a senior analyst at Munich Re – in late 2004, saying he was not a fit and proper person to discharge the responsibilities of a senior manager.

When Mr Burroughs worked at FAI between November 1996 and April 1999 under Daniel Wilkie, the former FAI director and manager of FAI’s general insurance and commercial and professional insurance divisions, he was involved in a reinsurance transaction between FAI and General & Cologne Re that artificially boosted FAI’s reserves.

APRA said Mr Burroughs drafted a side letter that promised not to claim on six related reinsurance contracts and failed to inform FAI’s auditors about the transaction.

Mr Burroughs was subsequently acquitted of criminal charges in late 2005 and appealed to the regulator to rescind its disqualification. When APRA upheld its decision late last year, he appealed to the AAT.

In his judgement, AAT Deputy President Christopher Wright said Mr Burroughs “deliberately sought to minimise the nature of his culpability by refusing to own up to and acknowledge the real extent of his understanding of the deceptions being orchestrated by Wilkie and others”.

“To that end he has prevaricated and sought to mislead the tribunal.”

In upholding APRA’s decision, Mr Wright acknowledged Mr Burroughs’ insurance career would continue to be severely hamstrung.

“Such a disqualification does not apply in respect of all avenues of employment in the insurance industry, of course, and the applicant’s employment prospects in the industry, whilst curtailed, have not been eliminated,” he said. “Plainly, however, he wishes to secure such advancement into senior managerial ranks as may be available to him either with his present employers, Munich Re, or some other company.”

He held out the possibility of Mr Burroughs’ disqualification being revoked in the future.

“Obviously that point will be reached at some time in the not-too-distant future but at the present time it is still too early to do so.”