A Regina financial consultant who lost millions of dollars of his clients’ money has been banned for life from trading in securities in Saskatchewan.

Klaus Link and his company, Tri-Link Consultants, were found by a hearing panel of the Saskatchewan Financial Services Commission to have violated the Securities Act, the SFSC said Wednesday.

Pensioners and investors in Saskatchewan, Alberta and North Dakota say they’ve lost a total of $4.4 million dollars.

Link and Tri-Link were ordered to repay 51 of their former clients a total of $1.2 million.

The hearing panel also ordered Link and Tri-Link to pay another $160,000 in penalties and costs.

The panel, which heard the case earlier this month, ruled that Link placed his clients in unsuitable and high risk investments.

The decision also said Link and Tri-Link failed to register their accounts as required under the Income Tax Act and provided clients with misleading account statements.

Link and Tri-Link also used money from clients to pay other clients and for “personal obligations,” the decision said.

IE