MFDA Hearing Panel accepts Settlement Agreement with Adeolu Durotoye

TORONTO, April 16, 2014 /CNW/ - A Settlement Hearing in the matter of Adeolu Akinbola Durotoye (the "Respondent") was held today in Toronto, Ontario before a three-member Hearing Panel of the Central Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA"). The Hearing Panel accepted the Settlement Agreement ("Settlement Agreement") between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the Respondent:

• shall be prohibited from acting as a Branch Manager for a period of six (6) months commencing from the date of the final Order of the Hearing Panel;
• shall pay a fine of $2,500;
• shall pay $2,500 in costs;
• the Respondent shall pay the $5,000 total (attributable to the fine amount and costs amount) as follows:
  • $500 payable upon approval of the Settlement Agreement;
  • $500 per month thereafter, on or before the 30^th day of each month following the date of the Order accepting the Settlement Agreement;
• if the Respondent fails to comply with the payment provision, then without further notice to the Respondent, he shall summarily be permanently prohibited from conducting securities related business in any capacity while in the employ of or associated with any MFDA Member; and
• shall in future comply with MFDA Rules 1.1.2, 2.5.1, 2.5.5(f) and Rule 2.1.1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

a)	from April 2008 to March 2011, he obtained and used 5 partially completed or whited-out pre-signed forms to complete 3 transactions for 3 clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
b)	from July 2009 to June 2011, in his capacity as Branch Manager, he reviewed and approved 30 blank or partially completed pre-signed account forms and account forms altered with white-out, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.5.5(d) (now Rule 2.5.5(f)) and Rule 2.1.1.

A copy of the Settlement Agreement is available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca. During the period described in the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent carried on business in Mississauga, Ontario.

The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its 111 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

Hugh Corbett, Managing Director, Enforcement, 416-943-4685, [email protected]