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by Mike Caswell

The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization has banned and fined former Ventum Financial Corp. employee Harry Liu for misappropriating a client's money. CIRO claimed that Mr. Liu used the client's identity to obtain a $268,400 mortgage and borrowed 600,000 Chinese yuan (about $110,000) from the client. He also failed to co-operate with CIRO's subsequent investigation.

The penalties for Mr. Liu are contained in a decision that CIRO released on Nov. 4, 2026. The regulator has ordered Mr. Liu to pay $942,030, comprising disgorgement of $442,030 in gains and a $500,000 fine. On top of that, Mr. Liu must pay $50,000 in CIRO's costs.

The penalties come about six months after CIRO filed the case against Mr. Liu, claiming that he misappropriated money in the account of a man who had become his client in 2019. According to CIRO, the misappropriation occurred after the client went to China in January, 2020. The trip began at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which left the client unable to return to Canada until June, 2022, CIRO said. During that period, Mr. Liu collected the client's mail, including his account statements. The client did not have on-line access to his accounts and relied on Mr. Liu for information, according to CIRO.

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