MFDA issues Notice of Settlement Hearing in respect of Hsi Chun Chiang

TORONTO, Jan. 6, 2012 /CNW/ - The MFDA today announced that it has issued a Notice of Settlement Hearing regarding the presentation, review and consideration of a proposed settlement agreement by a Hearing Panel of the MFDA's Pacific Regional Council.

The settlement agreement will be between Staff of the MFDA and Hsi Chun Chiang (the "Respondent") and involves matters for which the Respondent may be disciplined by a Hearing Panel pursuant to MFDA By-laws. The proposed agreement concerns allegations that:

a.	Between July 2007 and February 2009, the Respondent had and continued in another gainful occupation that was not disclosed to and approved by the Member, and further engaged in securities related business that was not carried out for the account and through the facilities of the Member by:
	i.     acting as Vice-President, Public Relations of Maple Leaf Reforestation Inc.;
	ii.     acting as an agent or employee of Future Canada China Environment Inc. (Canada); and
	iii.     acting as President, CEO and director for Future Canada China Environment Inc. (USA);
	contrary to MFDA Rules 1.1.1(a), 1.2.1(d) and 2.1.1; and
b.	Between July 2007 and February 2009, the Respondent recommended or facilitated the sale of shares of Maple Leaf, FCCE Canada and FCCE USA to clients thereby giving rise to conflicts of interest between her interests and the interests of clients which she failed to address by the exercise of responsible business judgment influenced only by the best interests of the clients, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.1.4, 2.4.2 and 2.1.1.

The settlement hearing is scheduled to take place on January 12, 2012 commencing at 10:00 a.m. (Pacific) in the hearing room located at Charest Reporting Inc., 885 West Georgia Street, Suite 1650, Vancouver, British Columbia. All other previously scheduled hearing dates in this matter have been abandoned (i.e. January 9-11, 2012).

The settlement hearing will be open to the public, unless and to the extent that the Hearing Panel determines that all or part of the hearing should proceed in the absence of the public. If the Hearing Panel accepts the Settlement Agreement, then copies of the decision of the Hearing Panel and the Settlement Agreement will be made available to the public.

A copy of the Notice of Settlement Hearing is available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca.

The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its 125 Members and their approximately 75,000 Approved Persons with a mandate to protect investors and the public interest.

Shaun Devlin
Vice-President, Enforcement
416-943-4672 or [email protected]