The FMA believed Pegasus’ continued pretence that it was registered would have misled overseas investors into thinking Pegasus was regulated in New Zealand, which had an international reputation as having a safe, highly regulated financial services sector. The FMA said offending like Reps’ threatened to damage New Zealand’s reputation as a safe place to do business. The FMA described Reps as a “passive” director and a “gun for hire”, saying he had been director of more than 90 companies, some of which had been removed from the Financial Service Providers Register by the FMA. The Companies Office showed Reps was a current, or former director, of 115 companies.