meta_id 3421774

On [date of resolution], Argentina's National Securities Commission (Comisión Nacional de Valores — CNV) issued a joint enforcement resolution imposing a penalty of ARS 15,000,000 against Mundo Bursátil S.A. (MB), a securities brokerage firm, and its directors and audit committee members for multiple regulatory violations. The CNV investigation, initiated under File Number 106/2022, examined complaints from MB clients who alleged the firm prevented them from accessing account balances pending payment of disputed commission charges. MB claimed an internal audit discovered that certain client accounts had been charged commissions below its stated 0.40 percent rate or no commission at all between 2015 and 2021. In response, MB retained client funds to recover alleged unpaid commissions. The CNV found that MB violated Article 10 of the CNV Regulations (prohibiting brokers from disposing of client securities), Article 16 (requiring honest and diligent conduct), Article 17 (mandating disclosure of commissions in account statements), Article 19 (requiring proper account opening documentation), Article 8 (requiring public commission disclosure), and Article 15 (requiring adequate organizational structure). The CNV determined that MB's retention of client funds constituted an unlawful disposition of client assets and that the firm failed to properly disclose commission changes through authorized communication channels. Additionally, the CNV found that MB's website contained outdated commission information and that the firm did not maintain adequate internal controls to detect the commission discrepancies until 2021, despite the issues originating in 2015. Directors Fernando Dieguez, Gabriel Alejandro Ortolano, and Leonardo Ramón Perea, along with audit committee members Guillermo Carricart, Leonardo Spaccaratella, and Nidia Susana Espejo, were held jointly liable. The CNV determined the directors failed to exercise adequate supervision under Article 59 of Argentina's General Corporations Law and that the audit committee failed to monitor legal compliance under Article 294. Payment of the ARS 15,000,000 fine must be made within five business days of the resolution becoming final through the eRecauda system.