Panel determined last April he had engaged in trading practices that were ‘a serious violation of CIRO’s rules’
Peter Deeb, the chief executive officer of Toronto investment dealer Hampton Securities Ltd., is appealing a regulatory ruling suspending him from the industry over his trading practices. A hearing panel of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization determined last April that Mr.
Deeb had engaged in trading practices that were “a serious violation of CIRO’s rules” and that the firm’s record-keeping was “clearly inadequate.” On Feb. 18, the panel ordered Mr. Deeb to pay nearly $2-million in fines, disgorgements and costs and permanently barred him from serving as the “ultimate designated person” of Hampton or any other firm. The ultimate designated person of a securities firm is typically its CEO. Mr. Deeb also faces a one-year suspension and prohibition from serving as a registered representative of an investment dealer and a three-year prohibition from being an executive or supervisor of any CIRO dealer member.Mr. Deeb was previously the chair of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. He exited the role, to which he’d been appointed by Ontario Premier Doug Ford, in 2021. He also served as a board member and audit committee chair of the PC Ontario Fund, the fundraising arm of Ontario’s Progressive Conservative party, according to his LinkedIn profile. In his appeal application, Mr. Deeb argues that the CIRO panel made a number of legal errors and overlooked material evidence, and is requesting that its decisions be set aside. According to the CIRO hearing panel, Mr. Deeb made trades in circumstances where there was inadequate margin funds to support them, among other contraventions. The panel also found that he misled the regulator by claiming there was an Abu Dhabi or Sovereign Wealth Fund client behind a position that incurred a $1.9-million loss near the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. “This is not the kind of conduct that is acceptable for who has the obligation to promote a culture of compliance at his firm and is expected to set the tone from the top,” the panel wrote. Mr. Deeb contests the panel’s findings. He argues that CIRO incorrectly concluded that the firm’s monthly financial reports for February and March of 2020 were inaccurate, ordered an excessively punitive fine and failed to consider the effects of the pandemic on the firm’s operations, among many other alleged errors. Mr. Deeb also disputes the allegation that he had misled the regulator, saying he had advised a CIRO representative that “they were testing algorithmic trading to potentially use for an Abu Dhabi-based client, not that the trading was for an Abu Dhabi client.” In his application for review, Mr. Deeb argues that the “permanent nature of the sanction is excessive, not proportional to the conduct in the circumstances,” and overlooks mitigating factors. “Further, the events that occurred 5 years ago, weighed against the greatly improved and favourable reviews carried out by CIRO since, demonstrate that no removal in the form of a suspension is warranted,” the document reads. A case management hearing has been scheduled for March 6 in front of Ontario’s Capital Markets Tribunal, an independent division of the Ontario Securities Commission.
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