IN THE MATTER OF Konstantinos Georgakopoulos - Penalty

TORONTO , Sept. 30 /CNW/ - Following a disciplinary hearing held on December 1-5 and 8-10, 2008, in Vancouver , BC, a Hearing Panel of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) found that Konstantinos Georgakopoulos (the Respondent):

    
    (a) between January and December 2004, the Respondent, at all material
        times a Registered Representative at Golden Capital Securities Ltd.
        (Golden), a Member Firm, failed to properly perform his role as
        gatekeeper to the capital markets and acted contrary to Association
        Regulation 1300.1(a) by facilitating certain transactional activity
        in certain client accounts without making diligent inquiries to
        ensure the legitimacy of the transactions in circumstances which
        should have called the transactional activity into question because
        it was peculiar, suspicious or appeared to be consistent with market
        manipulation, deception, or other improper market-related activity;
        and

    (b) between January and December 2004, the Respondent, at all material
        times a Registered Representative at Golden, a Member Firm, failed to
        properly perform his role as gatekeeper to the capital markets and
        acted contrary to Association By-Law 29.1 by failing to observe the
        high standards of ethics and conduct in the transaction of his
        business by facilitating certain transactional activity in certain
        client accounts without making diligent inquiries to ensure the
        legitimacy of the transactions in circumstances which should have
        called the transactional activity into question because it was
        peculiar, suspicious, or appeared to be consistent with market
        manipulation, deception, or other improper market-related activity.

    The Hearing Panel issued its Decision and Reasons on May 20, 2009. In a
separate penalty decision dated September 7, 2009, the Hearing Panel imposed
the following penalties against the Respondent:

    (a) suspension from approval for a period of 3 years, commencing Monday,
        September 14, 2009;

    (b) a fine of $50,000;

    (c) a payment of $24,576 for disgorgement of commissions; and required
        the Respondent to pay costs in the amount of $40,000.
    

IIROC formally initiated the investigation into the Respondent's conduct on August 29, 2006 . The violations occurred when the Respondent was a Registered Representative with the 1177 West Hastings Street Branch of Golden. The Respondent was, until his suspension came into effect on September 14, 2009 , registered with the 595 Burrard Street Branch of Global Securities Corporation, an IIROC-regulated firm.

The Hearing Panel's Decisions and Reasons are available at www.iiroc.ca.

IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada . Created in 2008 through the consolidation of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada and Market Regulation Services Inc., 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.

For further information: Warren Funt, Vice President, Western Canada, [phone], [email protected]; Jeff Kehoe, Director, Enforcement, [phone], [email protected]