Securities regulators in Alberta have reciprocated a couple of market bans that were initially imposed by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC).
The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) said Friday it has reciprocated a permanent ban that was imposed by the BCSC on a trio of Swiss firms, Bank Gutenberg AG, Gutenberg Management AG and Gutenberg Group AG.
The firms settled with the BCSC, admitting to breaching BC securities laws by holding itself out (through its website) as being in the business of trading and advising in securities, and by engaging in trading in TSX Venture Exchange-listed securities on behalf of B.C. residents without being registered.
Now, an ASC panel has decided to reciprocate the sanctions handed down in that case, after it found that by operating through a website, “Bank Gutenberg exposed Alberta investors and the Alberta capital market to risks similar to those admitted in British Columbia. We therefore conclude that reciprocating the BCSC order will serve the public interest in Alberta.”
Separately, the ASC also reciprocated a two-year trading ban that was imposed on Rudolf Walter Brenner (effective July 17, 2014) by the BCSC, which found that, among other things, Brenner made false and misleading statements to a BCSC staff investigator in connection with trading activity in an offshore account involving a company where Brenner was a director.
The ASC says that its panel concluded that a reciprocal ban is in the public interest, considering “the seriousness of Brenner’s misconduct”, and the fact that the company in question was also a reporting issuer in Alberta.