A British Columbia Securities Commission panel has sanctioned a B.C. lawyer who breached securities laws when he purchased securities in a mining company that was engaged in an acquisition.
Kjeld Werbes purchased shares of Global Uranium Corp. with knowledge of the company’s acquisition of a mining property before that information was made public.
In March 2010, Global retained Werbes to draft the acquisition agreement. The acquisition was disclosed on April 16, 2010. Werbes purchased 20,000 Global shares on April 14.
Werbes admitted that his purchase contravened the prohibition in the Securities Act against illegal insider trading.
The panel noted that although his conduct was careless rather than intentional, “Werbes failed to meet the expectation that securities lawyers who become privy to undisclosed material information in the course of representing public companies will not trade on that information, no matter what.”
The panel ordered that Werbes cease trade in, and be prohibited from purchasing, any securities or exchange contracts of any company with whom he is in a special relationship for one year.
The panel also ordered Werbes to pay an administrative penalty of $25,000.