FINRA Fines Mundial Financial $100K for Violations

New York, NY — Mundial Financial Group, LLC has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine and accept a censure following a settlement with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The disciplinary action stems from multiple violations of securities industry rules spanning several years.

Between January 2018 and January 2024, Mundials indirect owner acted as a principal and registered representative without proper FINRA registration. Despite knowing this, the firm allowed him to solicit customers, manage client relationships, oversee finances, and direct key operational decisions. This conduct violated FINRA Rule 1210, NASD Rules 1021 and 1031, and FINRA Rule 2010.

From September 2019 onward, Mundial also failed to implement adequate Customer Identification Program (CIP) procedures. The firm could not reasonably verify the identities of new customers, many of whom were domiciled outside the United States, primarily in China. Applications submitted electronically often contained discrepancies in income and net worth, or listed identical addresses across unrelated accounts. Mundial approved these accounts without further review, breaching FINRA Rules 3310(b), 3310(f)(i), and 2010.

In addition, Mundials anti-money laundering (AML) program was deemed insufficient. The firm relied solely on manual reviews of daily trade reports, which failed to detect suspicious activity flagged by its clearing firm. Examples included large deposits inconsistent with reported net worth, simultaneous account openings tied to the same securities, and attempted transfers of millions of shares of low-priced securities. The firm also lacked procedures to monitor insider trading, even when aware that certain customers were corporate insiders subject to trading restrictions. These failures violated FINRA Rules 3310(a), 3310(f)(ii), and 2010.

Mundial Financial Group, a FINRA member since 2011, operates from New York with one branch office and three registered representatives. The firm offers self-directed trading through its clearing partner.

The settlement underscores FINRAs continued focus on enforcing registration, customer verification, and AML compliance standards across broker-dealers.