Brief facts of the case are that the Respondent is a TREC holder of the Pakistan Stock Exchange Limited ("PSX") and licensed as a securities broker with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (the "Commission"). The Commission, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 169 of the Securities Act 2015, vide its order dated March 12, 2019 conducted review of compliance status in consonance with the regulatory requirements contained in Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism) Regulations, 2018 ("AML Regulations").
The team submitted its report on April 04, 2019 ("Report") after receiving comments on the letter of findings dated March 25, 2019. In view of the aforesaid, the securities broker prima facie acted in contravention of the AML Regulations. The Commission therefore took cognizance of the aforesaid violations, issued SCN dated June 17, 2019 to the Respondent.
In view of the foregoing and the admission by the respondent, contravention of the provisions of AML Regulations has been established. Therefore, in term of the power conferred under Section 40A of the Act, a penalty of Rs 500,000 is hereby imposed on the respondent. The respondent is advised to enforce the provisions of AML Regulations in letter and spirit.