After bringing allegations against a Swiss bank, charging that it engaged in unregistered trading, the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) Wednesday brought allegations against a former broker, claiming that he attempted to conceal illegal insider trading through the bank.
Earlier, the BCSC charged that Bank Gutenberg breached securities laws by trading and providing securities advice without registration. Those allegations have not been proven. (See Investment Executive, BCSC investigating potential breaches by Swiss bank, Aug. 7, 2013.)
Now, the regulator is also alleging that a former broker, Douglas William Falconer Wood, traded shares of Highland Resources Inc. (now Highland Copper Company Inc.) based on material, undisclosed information about a pending deal between Highland and another company.
It also alleges that Wood used his Panamanian shell company, Doble International S.A., and his relationship with Bank Gutenberg to conceal his insider trading. The BCSC says that Dobe had a trading account at the bank, and that the bank was his client too, having opened a trading account with him in February 2009.
In addition to the insider trading allegations, the BCSC also alleges that Wood deceived his employer, Jordan Capital Markets, where he worked as a broker, by trading in restricted stocks and failing to inform his firm about his interest in Doble. It also claims that he breached securities laws by lying during compelled interviews with the commission and with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).
The allegations against Wood have not been proven either. BCSC staff intend to apply to set dates for a hearing into the allegations before a panel of commissioners on September 17, it said.