Order

WHEREAS on March 26, 2021, the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (the “MFDA”) issued a News Release announcing that it proposes to hold a hearing to consider whether, pursuant to section 24.4 of By-law No. 1, a hearing panel of the Central Regional Council (the “Hearing Panel”) of the MFDA should accept the settlement agreement entered into between Staff of the MFDA (“Staff”) and the Respondent, Md Ashanur Rahman (the “Respondent”);

AND WHEREAS the Respondent entered into a settlement agreement with Staff of the MFDA, dated March 17, 2021 (the “Settlement Agreement”), in which the Respondent agreed to a proposed settlement of matters for which the Respondent could be disciplined pursuant to sections 20 and 24.1 of MFDA By-law No. 1;

AND WHEREAS the Hearing Panel is of the opinion that the Respondent:

1. In 2017 and 2018, engaged in personal financial dealings with clients by borrowing monies from clients, lending monies to a client, or depositing monies belonging to clients to his personal bank account, all of which gave rise to conflicts or potential conflicts of interest that the Respondent failed to disclose to the Member or otherwise address by the exercise of responsible business judgment influenced only by the best interests of the clients, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.1.4 and 2.1.1;
2. Between May and June 2018, aided a client to falsely portray monies as a gift to assist the client to secure a mortgage, thereby failing to observe high standards of ethics and conduct in the transaction of business and engaging in conduct or a practice which is unbecoming or detrimental to the public interest, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1;
3. On October 24, 2017, deposited $20,000 in cash, which he borrowed from a client, into bank accounts that he controlled in three separate transactions of less than $10,000 each, thereby circumventing the large cash transaction reporting requirements to the Financial Transaction and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
4. In 2018, made false or misleading statements to the Member during the course of an investigation into his conduct, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT the Settlement Agreement is accepted, as a consequence of which:

1. The Respondent is prohibited from conducting securities related business in any capacity while in the employ of or in association with a Member of the MFDA for a period of 5 years from the date of this Order, pursuant to section 24.1.1(e) of MFDA By-law No. 1;
2. The Respondent shall pay a fine of $20,000 in certified funds on the date of this Order, pursuant to section 24.1.1(b) of MFDA By-law No. 1;
3. The Respondent shall pay costs of $5,000 in certified funds on the date of this Order, pursuant to section 24.2 of MFDA By-law No. 1; and
4. If at any time a non-party to this proceeding, with the exception of the bodies set out in section 23 of MFDA By-law No. 1, requests production of or access to exhibits in this proceeding that contain personal information as defined by the MFDA Privacy Policy, then the MFDA Corporate Secretary shall not provide copies of or access to the requested exhibits to the non-party without first redacting from them any and all personal information, pursuant to Rules 1.8(2) and (5) of the MFDA Rules of Procedure.