MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with Rakesh Garg

TORONTO, May 5, 2022 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Rakesh Garg (the "Respondent") was held electronically by videoconference on May 4, 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 March 14, 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 $25,000;
• costs in the amount of $2,500; and
• shall in the future comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

1. between October 2017 and January 2020, he 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;
2. between August 2017 and December 2017, he 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
3. between February 2017 and November 2019, he 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.

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 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]