Regulators in British Columbia are accusing a Vancouver lawyer of illegal insider trading ahead of a takeover bid for a uranium miner, along with other inside information.
The B.C. Securities Commission has issued a notice of hearing alleging that Weiqing Jane Jin traded in the stock of TSX-listed mining firm Hathor Exploration Ltd. with inside information about the firm. The allegations have not been proven.
The BCSC says that Jin, who is a partner in a Beijing law firm, was hired as a consultant in the Vancouver office of an international business law firm, and that Hathor was a client of the law firm. It says that Jin was assigned to work with Hathor in July 2011, and in August 2011 she bought shares in the company.
On August 19, Cameco Corp. made a surprise bid for Hathor. “Jin was copied on correspondence between her law firm and Hathor that discussed the Cameco offer,” it notes. Between the offer to the company, and its public disclosure on Aug. 26, it says she bought more shares in Hathor. Following the announcement, Hathor’s stock price rose by 45%, and several days later, the BCSC says that she sold all of her shares, generating a net profit of $16,424.
The BCSC charges that the information concerning the Cameco offer, along with information about a confidentiality agreement between Hathor and another company “were all material facts” about the company. “BCSC staff alleges that Jin breached securities laws by purchasing and trading securities before the material information was made public,” it says.
Counsel for the executive director of the BCSC will apply to set dates for a hearing into the allegations before a panel of commissioners on September 3.