MFDA Hearing Panel issues Reasons for Decision in the matter of Avtar Badasha
TORONTO, June 9, 2015 /CNW/ - A Hearing Panel of the Pacific Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA") has issued its Reasons for Decision in connection with a settlement hearing held in Vancouver, British Columbia on April 17, 2015 in the matter of Avtar Singh Badasha (the "Respondent"). The Reasons for Decision relate to the Hearing Panel's acceptance of the settlement agreement (the "Settlement Agreement") entered into between the Respondent and Staff of the MFDA. In its Reasons for Decision dated June 9, 2015, the Hearing Panel confirmed the sanctions imposed on the Respondent, namely:
- a fine in the amount of $5,000;
- costs in the amount of $3,500;
- prohibition from conducting securities related business in any capacity while in the employ of or associated with any MFDA Member for a period of two (2) years, commencing from the date of the Hearing Panel's Order; and
- shall in future comply with all MFDA By-laws, Rules and Policies and all applicable securities legislation and regulations made thereunder including MFDA Rule 2.1.1.
In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that between July 1, 2012 and September 30, 2012, the Respondent allowed AP, an unregistered individual, to open new accounts at the Member for 16 individuals with whom the Respondent never met, thereby:
| a) |
failing to ensure that he performed the necessary due diligence to learn the essential facts relative to each client for whom an account was opened, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.2.1(a) and 2.1.1; and |
| b) |
failing in his capacity as a branch manager to ensure that business conducted at the branch was in compliance with MFDA By-laws, Rules and applicable legislation, and to supervise the opening of new accounts at the Member's branch office, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.5.5(f)(i) and (ii). |
Additionally, between September 2011 and December 2013, the Respondent engaged in conduct unbecoming an Approved Person by:
| a) |
obtaining, maintaining and using approximately seven blank signed forms in the accounts of four clients; |
| b) |
securing client signatures on account documentation for eight client accounts by sending only the signature pages to six clients; and |
| c) |
changing the dates on two client account forms that were faxed by one client. |
contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.
Copies of the Reasons for Decision and the Settlement Agreement are available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca. During the period described in the Reasons for Decision, the Respondent carried on business in Surrey, British Columbia.
The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its 102 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
Shaun Devlin, Senior Vice-President, Member Regulation, Enforcement, 416-943-4672, [email protected]; Jeff Mount, Vice-President, Pacific Region, 604-694-8846, [email protected]
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