New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has filed criminal charges against a company and its director for breaching registration rules.

The charges are the first in relation to the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act, and carry a maximum penalty of a $NZ300,000 ($278,018) fine for a company and a $NZ100,000 ($92,673) fine and/or one-year imprisonment for an individual.

The Act says no person or company can claim to provide a financial service unless it is registered on the Financial Service Providers Register (FSPR) and a member of an approved dispute resolution scheme.

The FMA alleges the company, which has not been named at this stage, falsely claimed on two different websites it was on the FSPR.

The regulator says the FSPR has been abused by businesses and individuals who use New Zealand’s reputation as a well-regulated country to target overseas investors.