MFDA announces settlement hearing to take place in the matter of Rakesh Garg

TORONTO, March 31, 2022 /CNW/ - The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA") commenced a disciplinary proceeding in respect of Rakesh Garg (the "Respondent") by Notice of Hearing dated December 10, 2021 ("Notice of Hearing").

As the result of a settlement agreement entered into between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, a settlement hearing will take place electronically by videoconference before a Hearing Panel of the MFDA's Central Regional Council on May 4, 2022, commencing at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern), or as soon thereafter as the matter can be held. Members of the public who would like to obtain particulars should contact [email protected].

The subject matter of the proposed settlement agreement concerns matters for which the Respondent may be disciplined pursuant to ss. 20 and 24.1.1 of By-law No. 1 of the MFDA. In particular, the settlement agreement concerns allegations that the Respondent:

a)	between October 2017 and January 2020, obtained, possessed, and in some cases, used to process transactions 17 pre-signed account forms in respect of 15 clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
b)	between August 2017 and December 2017, altered and used to process transactions 2 account forms in respect of 2 clients by altering information on the account forms without having the client initial the alterations, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
c)	between February 2017 and November 2019, photocopied signature pages from account forms that had been previously signed by clients and re-used the signature pages to complete 16 additional forms in respect of 8 clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

MFDA settlement hearings are typically held in the absence of the public pursuant to section 20.5 of MFDA By-law No. 1 and Rule 15.2(2) of the MFDA Rules of Procedure. If the Hearing Panel accepts the settlement agreement, then the proceeding will become open to the public and a copy of the decision of the Hearing Panel and the settlement agreement will be made available at www.mfda.ca.

A copy of the Notice of Hearing is available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca. During the period described in the Notice of Hearing, the Respondent conducted business in the Mississauga, Ontario area.

The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its Members and their approximately 80,000 Approved Persons with a mandate to protect investors and the public interest. For more information about the MFDA's complaint and enforcement processes, as well as links to 'Check an Advisor' and other Investor Tools, visit the For Investors page on the MFDA website.

SOURCE Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada

Charles Toth, Vice-President, Enforcement, 416-943-4619, [email protected]