The B.C. Securities Commission has fined five individuals and banned them for six years after they each admitted to giving false or misleading statements to the commission.
In a settlement agreement with the BCSC, Parvin Kaur Dhudwal, Amrik Singh Bahd, Kulbir Singh Uppal, Gulpreet Kaur Jhutty and Paul Uppal each admitted they made false and misleading statements to BCSC investigators over suspicious trading activity in Sungro Minerals Inc., a company quoted on the U.S. over-the-counter bulletin board.
When questioned by the BCSC, each respondent claimed they paid for their Sungro shares, but admitted they were reimbursed for their share purchases.
They also admitted to meeting with individuals who gave them Sungro share certificates prior to their investigative interviews. These unnamed individuals also instructed them to tell BCSC investigators they received them on earlier dates, if asked.
Under the BCSC order, the respondents are prohibited, with limited exceptions, from purchasing and trading securities or becoming or acting as an officer or director for six years. They are also prohibited from acting as a promoter, acting in a management or consultative capacity in connection with activities in the securities market or engaging in investor relations activities.
Kulbir Uppal and Paul Uppal were each fined $7,500, and Gulpreet Jhutty, Amrik Bahd each paid $5,000. Parvin Dhudwal has no reasonable prospect of paying the $5,000 that would have otherwise been fined.
The BCSC continues to investigate the trading of Sungro shares.