Scotia Capital Inc. has paid the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) $65,000 for trading in securities that were the subject of cease trade orders (CTOs) and a halt trade order (HTO).
The payment is part of a settlement agreement that states that the investment dealer made trades in the securities of 14 companies subject to CTOs and an HTO between August 2006 and June 2012.
The companies included:
- Flotek Industries Inc.;
- ePunk Inc.;
- EYI Industries Inc.;
- MIV Therapeutics Inc.;
- City Xpress Corp.;
- Nuvilex Inc.;
- Intelligent Living Corp.;
- Digagogo Ventures Corp.;
- E-Debit Global Corporation;
- Americas Energy Company;
- International TME Resources Inc.;
- Silverado Gold Mines Ltd.;
- Empire Energy Corporation International; and
- Forum National Investments Ltd.
The BCSC said that Scotia acknowledged receipt of notifications of the CTOs and the HTO via the regulator’s email blast alert.
Scotia conceded that it failed to identify and prevent the trades in question due to the company’s “back office conversion, technological error, human error and stock symbols/name changes.”
The BCSC acknowledges that Scotia self-reported many of the breaches and cooperated with the review. Scotia has stated that it has taken corrective action to prevent similar incidents going forward.
