MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with Dessislava Hristova

TORONTO, Sept. 26, 2022 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Dessislava Hristova (the "Respondent") was held electronically by videoconference on September 23, 2022 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 dated July 29, 2022 (the "Settlement Agreement"), between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed on the Respondent:

• a fine in the amount of $10,000, payable in instalments as follows:
• $5,000 on or before October 31, 2022;
• $5,000 on or before November 30, 2022;
• costs in the amount of $5,000; and
• shall in the future comply with MFDA Rules 2.2.2(b), 2.2.1, 2.5.1, 1.1.2 and 2.1.1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

1.  on November 25, 2019, she failed to use due diligence to learn the essential facts relative to three clients when opening accounts for the clients, and opened the clients' accounts without obtaining signed New Account Application Forms from the clients, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures and MFDA Rules 2.2.2(b), 2.2.1, 2.5.1, 1.1.2 and 2.1.1; and
2. on November 25, 2019, she processed the purchase of a mutual fund in a client's account without communicating with the client, thereby engaging in unauthorized trading, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures and MFDA Rules 2.1.1, 2.5.1 and 1.1.2.

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 the Toronto, 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 76,695 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]