MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with Qanoot Subzwari

TORONTO, March 7, 2022 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Qanoot Subzwari (the "Respondent") was held electronically by videoconference 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 dated February 21, 2021 (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 prohibition from conducting securities related business in any capacity while in the employ of or in association with a Member of the MFDA for a period of eighteen months, commencing on March 7, 2022;
• a fine in the amount of $4,000;
• costs in the amount of $2,500; and
• shall in the future comply with MFDA Rules 2.1.1 and 5.1(b).

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

1. between February 2019 and May 2019, he set up pre-authorized contributions in the accounts of clients without the knowledge or authorization of the clients in order to meet sales targets or to qualify for a bonus based on Member sales incentives, thereby failing to deal fairly, honestly and in good faith with clients, failing to observe high standards of conduct in the transaction of business and engaging in conduct which is unbecoming and detrimental to the public interest, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
   
   
2. between February 2019 and May 2019, he entered false or misleading information on account forms submitted to the Member which falsely indicated that clients authorized the implementation of pre-authorized contributions in the clients' accounts, contrary to MFDA 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 Milton, Ontario.

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]