An Ontario court has upheld sanctions that the Ontario Securities Commission imposed on two former executives with Coventree Inc. for that firm’s role in the collapse of the asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) market.

In September 2011, the OSC found Coventree and executives Geoffrey Cornish and Dean Tai violated disclosure rules when they failed to inform the market about material changes in the ABCP market before that market ultimately failed in August 2007.

The OSC ordered Cornish and Tai to pay penalties of $500,000 each, reprimanded the pair and imposed one year bans from serving as directors or officers.

Coventree penalties total $2.25 million

OSC explains Coventree sanctions

Earlier this week, the Superior Court of Justice (Divisional Court) upheld the OSC’s sanctions against Coventree, Cornish and Tal.

The court dismissed the appeals brought by Cornish and Tai to set aside the commission’s orders, and in their place, to dismiss the OSC’s statement of allegations dated Dec. 7, 2009.

The court dismissed the appeals on the grounds that the OSC’s conclusions reached in support of the orders were reasonable.