The B.C. Securities Commission (BCSC) expects it will take seven months longer to close cases dealing with financial regulation violations in 2015, according to a new report.
In the government agency’s annual enforcement review, released April 21, the BCSC estimated it would take 22 months on average to resolve open cases.
Last year, it took an average of 15 months to close a case.
The BCSC, which regulates the province’s capital markets and investigates investment schemes, said the increased length of time is based on the number of cases investigators are currently dealing with compared with last year.
In 2014, the BCSC doled out 140 “disruptive actions” against people and organizations it suspected of violating provincial regulations in the capital markets, according to the report.
Disruptive actions include freeze orders, production orders and demands.
The BCSC expects to dish out 154 actions this year.
In 2014, it took an average of 72 days from when a complaint was first launched to when a disruptive action was ordered. The BCSC said it aims to cut that period down to an average of 65 days by the end of 2015.
