Brokerage Broker Cluj fined by lei 724,000, top brass banned from the capital market

The penalties are the result of a control carried out by CNVM commissaries, which revealed several irregularities. Broker Cluj did not respect a previous decision of the commission concerning the activity of the company's branches being suspended temporarily.

Moreover, Broker Cluj transferred money from its private account to the open account where it kept clients' money, without the transfers showing in the investors' account charts. It also failed to prove that the discounts for its debtor clients were made from the company's funds and not from the clients' funds.

The commission decided to fine the company's president until March 26, Petru Prunea, by 25,000 lei and to suspend him for five years from the capital market.Adrian Ceuca, the deputy general manager, received a 10,000 lei fine and a three-year ban from the capital market. 

Broker Cluj also got a 723,679 lei fine, the equivalent of 0.5 percent of its share capital and the Deva and Baia Mare branched were suspended. 

CNVM decided on yesterday to suspend from trading the stock of brokerage Broker Cluj for two consecutive sessions starting today.

The first irregularities, referring to a fraud, were discovered in January at the Deva unit and led the market watchdog into suspending the unit for a fortnight.

The brokerage house later on filed an appeal, denouncing the “illegal” way in which the commission communicated the suspension decision, but the request was rejected.

Broker Cluj shares are traded on the first tier of the Bucharest Stock Exchange under the BRK symbol. The company's capitalization stands at 59.34 million lei, according to the 0.205 lei per share quota settled during the April 9 session.