IIROC permanently bans and fines rep $669,500

On March 6, 2017, an IIROC hearing panel imposed the following penalties on Jayanth Noronha:

• a permanent bar from approval from registering with IIROC in any capacity;
• a fine of $669,500, representing disgorgement of the amounts received by Noronha; and
• an additional fine of $200,000.

Noronha is also required to pay costs of $60,629.

“From every aspect, the misconduct of Mr. Noronha was as disgraceful and egregious as one could imagine in the investment industry,” the panel said in its sanction decision. It later added, “Mr. Noronha has not attended the liability or sanction hearings in this proceeding, has offered no explanation for his conduct and has not accepted responsibility for his actions or shown any remorse.”

In its liability decision dated January 23, 2017, the hearing panel found that Noronha acted contrary to IIROC rules 29.1, 18.15 and 42. Specifically, Noronha was found to have engaged in off-book transactions, accepted remuneration from issuers, failed to disclose a conflict of interest and deleted email records.

Noronha was previously fined $25,000 by IIROC’s predecessor, the Investment Dealers Association of Canada, for off-book transactions.

In this case, the hearing panel states that the additional fine “is justified by the very serious and prolonged misconduct of Mr. Noronha and his prior discipline record. It is necessary in order to protect the public interest and discourage future similar conduct that may harm the capital markets.”

Read the full penalty decision here.

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.