British Columbia Financial Services Authority suspends Tao Guo’s managing broker licence leaving Menethil Properties unauthorized to operate

The British Columbia Financial Services Authority issued an urgent order suspending the licence of Tao (Terry) Guo, Menethil Properties Ltd.’s managing broker, after determining he had abandoned his duties to oversee the brokerage’s operations. With no licensed managing broker in place, Menethil is not authorized to operate while BCFSA’s investigation continues. The suspension followed BCFSA’s finding that Guo had moved overseas and was delegating managing broker responsibilities to Menethil’s director, Yu (David) Song, who was not licensed to act as a managing broker. Under the Real Estate Services Act, real estate brokerages must have a licensed managing broker to supervise the brokerage, and the supervision failure was identified during BCFSA’s ongoing investigation into Menethil’s accounting and payments practices. Menethil provides rental property management services for approximately 100 properties in Kelowna, and BCFSA noted there are no immediate impacts to tenancy agreements, advising tenants to continue paying rent according to their tenancy terms. Menethil remains unable to operate until a new managing broker is licensed in relation to the brokerage.