Enforcement Notice - Decision - IN THE MATTER OF Wasseem Dirani - Discipline decision - Liability and Penalty

TORONTO, March 2, 2016 /CNW/ - Following a disciplinary hearing held on February 23, 2016, in Toronto, Ontario, a Hearing Panel of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) found that Wasseem Dirani misappropriated  funds from clients, executed unauthorized trades in client accounts, engaged  in personal financial dealings with clients, and failed to co-operate with an IIROC investigation.

The Hearing Panel's Reasons and Decision will be made available at www.iiroc.ca.

Documents related to ongoing IIROC enforcement proceedings – including Reasons and Decisions of Hearing Panels – are posted on the IIROC website as they become available. Click here to search and access all IIROC enforcement documents.

Specifically, the Hearing Panel found that Mr. Dirani committed the following violations:  

(a) From April 2014 to January 2015, Mr. Dirani engaged in business conduct or practice which is unbecoming or detrimental to the public interest in that he misappropriated funds from clients, contrary to IIROC Rule 29.1;

(b) From August to December 2014, Mr. Dirani engaged in business conduct or practice which is unbecoming or detrimental to the public interest in that he executed unauthorized transactions in the accounts of clients, contrary to IIROC Rule 29.1; 

(c) From July 2012 to May 2015, Mr. Dirani engaged in business conduct or practice which is unbecoming or detrimental to the public interest in that he engaged in personal financial dealings with clients, contrary to IIROC Rule 29.1; and

(d) From October to November 2015, Mr. Dirani failed to co-operate with an IIROC investigation by failing to attend a compelled interview, contrary to IIROC Rule 19.5.

The Hearing Panel imposed the following penalties on Mr. Dirani:

• A permanent ban on registration with IIROC
• A total fine of $266,000 consisting of a fine of $136,000 for misappropriation; $30,000 for unauthorized trading; $50,000 for personal financial dealings with clients; and  $50,000 for failing to co-operate with an IIROC investigation.

Mr. Dirani is also required to pay costs in the amount of $12,000.

IIROC formally initiated the investigation into Mr. Dirani's conduct in May 2015. The violations occurred while he was a Registered Representative with the Toronto branch of IPC Securities, an IIROC-regulated firm. Mr. Dirani is no longer a registrant with an IIROC-regulated firm.

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IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and their trading activity in Canada's debt and equity markets. IIROC sets high quality regulatory and investment industry standards, protects investors and strengthens market integrity while maintaining efficient and competitive capital markets. IIROC carries out its regulatory responsibilities through setting and enforcing rules regarding the proficiency, business and financial conduct of dealer firms and their registered employees and through setting and enforcing market integrity rules regarding trading activity on Canadian equity marketplaces.

IIROC investigates possible misconduct by its member firms and/or individual registrants. It can bring disciplinary proceedings which may result in penalties including fines, suspensions, permanent bars, expulsion from membership, or termination of rights and privileges for individuals and firms.

All information about disciplinary proceedings relating to current and former member firms is available in the Enforcement section of the IIROC website. Background information regarding the qualifications and disciplinary history, if any, of advisors currently employed by IIROC-regulated firms is available free of charge through the IIROC AdvisorReport service. Information on how to make investment dealer, advisor or marketplace-related complaints is available by calling 1 877 442-4322.

SOURCE Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) - General News

Enforcement Contact: Elsa Renzella, Vice-President, Enforcement, 416 943-5877, [email protected]; Media Contact: Karen Archer, Manager, Media Relations, 416 865-3046, [email protected]