KO at Broker Cluj: Capital market regulator bans Petru Prunea from Stock Exchange

Petru Prunea and Adrian Ceuca, the two managers of Broker Cluj (BRK), one of the largest brokerage companies on the Stock Exchange, have been banned by the National Securities Commission from operating on the capital market, for five and three years respectively. The ban has been issued after fraud was discovered at Broker’s subsidiaries in Deva and Baia Mare, as well as in the wake of 68 irregularities found by the capital market regulator in the company’s operations. The two managers have been fined 35,000 RON in overall sum, with the company’s activity being suspended until the two managers are replaced. “Following the penalties issued by the CNVM, I will resign from the positions that I have now become incompatible with,” said Petru Prunea, who is also a member of the Stock Exchange Board of Directors. Prunea, formerly a professional boxer, led Broker Cluj since its establishment in 1994. The commission also fined 20 Broker employees 80,000 RON in overall sum, while 7 brokers and agency managers were additionally suspended for periods ranging from 1 to 5 years from the capital market. The company was in turn fined 723,679 RON, accounting for 0.5% of its share capital and the operating licenses of the Deva and Baia Mare subsidiaries were withdrawn. These are the toughest penalties enforced by the CNVM against a brokerage company in the last few years.