OSC suspends exempt-market dealer for compliance failures

By James Langton | December 4, 2020 | Last updated on December 4, 2020
1 min read

The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has suspended an exempt-market dealer after alleging it had a capital shortfall following a series of other compliance issues.

The OSC issued a director’s decision suspending the registration of Becksley Capital Inc. and its ultimate designated person, Fabrizio Lucchese.

According to its decision, the regulator sent a letter to Becksley and Lucchese last month, indicating that staff recommended they be suspended amid allegations that the firm didn’t meet its minimum capital requirements, and that it terminated its chief compliance officer without informing the regulator.

“The working capital and CCO issues were the latest in a pattern of non-compliance by Becksley,” the decision said, indicating the firm had conditions placed on its registration in 2014 for unsuitable investment sales, ran into capital issues in 2015, and also failed to disclose two lawsuits and an alleged FINTRAC violation to the regulator in 2015.

As a result, the OSC recommended that the firm and Lucchese be suspended on the basis that they “failed to comply with Ontario securities law, lacked the requisite integrity for registration, and their registration was objectionable.”

The decision noted that they didn’t respond to a letter from the OSC notifying them of their right for an opportunity to be heard before the commission ruled on the staff recommendation.

It ruled that the uncontested allegations “are substantiated,” and suspended their registrations, effective immediately.

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James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.