An Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) has fined a former Montreal broker $20,000 for violating trading rules.
Following a disciplinary hearing held in June, the hearing found that Vinh-Phat Nguyen-Qui entered buy and sell orders in the pre-opening market and cancelled them prior to market opening for the sole objective of acquiring a better chronological position once the market opened.
He also entered short-sale orders in the pre-opening market without designating them as short sales and/or at a price below the last sale price as indicated in the consolidated market display.
In its decision dated September 17, the panel imposed the following penalty Nguyen-Qui:
- prohibition from accessing the market as a registered representative for a period of two months;
- a fine of $20,000; and
- a requirement to take the “Trader Trading Course” again.
The panel also ordered him to pay $10,000 in costs.
IIROC formally initiated the investigation into Nguyen-Qui’s conduct in May 2010. The violations occurred when he was a registered rep with the Montreal branch of W.D. Latimer Co. Ltd. Nguyen-Qui is no longer a registrant with an IIROC-regulated firm.