Enforcement Notice - Decision - IN THE MATTER OF Paul Sian - Settlement Accepted

VANCOUVER, May 15, 2017 /CNW/ - On May 1, 2017, a Hearing Panel of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) accepted a Settlement Agreement, with sanctions, between IIROC staff and Paul Sian.

Mr. Sian admitted that he failed to report his registered assistant's receipt of a $750,000 gift from a client and the subsequent lawsuit against his assistant to his firm; and that he failed to make reasonable inquiries regarding the client's instructions to liquidate her account. 

Specifically, Mr. Sian admitted to the following violations:

(a)	Between March 2008 and July 2013, Mr. Sian acted contrary to IIROC Dealer Member Rule 29.1 by failing to report his assistant's receipt of a $750,000 gift from a client to his Dealer Member firm;
(b)	Failing to report the initiation of a lawsuit against his assistant in relation to this gift to his Dealer Member firm; and
(c)	Mr. Sian acted contrary to IIROC Dealer Member Rule 1300.1 (a) by failing to make reasonable enquiries into the circumstances surrounding a client's instruction to liquidate her account.

Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, Mr. Sian agreed to the following penalties:

(a)	A fine in the amount of $20,000; and
(b)	$5,000 in costs.

The Settlement Agreement is available at: http://docs.iiroc.ca/DisplayDocument.aspx?DocumentID=CDF8EF1E43EE4182AE60079347A745B8&Language=en

The Hearing Panel's decision will be made available at www.iiroc.ca

Documents related to ongoing IIROC enforcement proceedings – including Reasons and Decisions of Hearing Panels – are posted on the IIROC website as they become available. Click here to search and access all IIROC enforcement documents.

IIROC formally initiated the investigation into Mr. Sian's conduct in November 2015.  The violation occurred while Mr. Sian was a Registered Representative at the Powell River branch of Scotia Capital Inc., an IIROC regulated firm.  Mr. Sian is currently a registrant with Scotia Capital Inc., an IIROC-regulated firm.

IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and their trading activity in Canada's debt and equity markets. IIROC sets high quality regulatory and investment industry standards, protects investors and strengthens market integrity while supporting healthy Canadian capital markets. IIROC carries out its regulatory responsibilities through setting and enforcing rules regarding the proficiency, business and financial conduct of dealer firms and their registered employees and through setting and enforcing market integrity rules regarding trading activity on Canadian equity marketplaces.

IIROC investigates possible misconduct by its member firms and/or individual registrants. It can bring disciplinary proceedings which may result in penalties including fines, suspensions, permanent bars, expulsion from membership, or termination of rights and privileges for individuals and firms.

All information about disciplinary proceedings relating to current and former member firms is available in the Enforcement section of the IIROC website. Background information regarding the qualifications and disciplinary history, if any, of advisors currently employed by IIROC-regulated firms is available free of charge through the IIROC AdvisorReport service. Information on how to make investment dealer, advisor or marketplace-related complaints is available by calling 1 877 442-4322

SOURCE Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) - General News

Enforcement Contact: Warren Funt, Vice-President, Western Canada, 604 331-4750, [email protected]; Media Contact: Karen Archer, Manager, Media Relations, 416 865-3046, [email protected]

Related Links

http://www.iiroc.ca