A former broker has been banned permanently from the industry and ordered to pay $167,000 in penalties for misappropriating more than $350,000 from his 90-year-old client.

The Investment Dealers Association of Canada said Alex Gurion, a former registered representative with the suburban North York branch of CIBC World Markets Inc., misappropriated more than $350,000 from a 90-year-old client in October 2001, then left the country two months later. A spokesman for the IDA said he is now working in the import-export business in Moscow.

The IDA said Gurion duped the client into agreeing to the transfer of funds from her CIBC World Markets account to an account held by an unrelated third party at a bank in Cyprus. “The client had no appreciation for the significance of the transfer, and acted solely on the basis of her trust and belief that Mr. Gurion was acting in her best interests,” the IDA said in a release.

“The client first became aware that funds were missing from her account in or about March 2002, when her lawyer reviewed her CIBC account for tax purposes. In May 2002, CIBC made full restitution to her.”

The IDA fined Gurion $150,000 and ordered him to repay the funds misappropriated in the amount of $353,587 and permanently banned him from ever acting in any capacity with a member of the sssociation. He is also required to pay $17,000 for the costs of the investigation and prosecution. Recovery of the funds is unlikely.