Ontario Securities CommissionPeter Power/The Globe and Mail
The Ontario Securities Commission has levied more than $3.5-million in penalties against six people accused of operating a boiler room stock scam that targeted investors around the globe.
A hearing panel ruled the scheme involved the improper sale of $2.2-million (U.S.) of securities in Asia Pacific Energy Inc. to 110 investors in the United States, Britain, the Caribbean, New Zealand, Singapore and Canada.
In a decision released Thursday, the panel ordered Kit Ching Pan to pay a penalty of $350,000 (Canadian), while Alex Pidgeon, Hau Wai Cheung and Rafique Jiwani were ordered to pay $300,000 each. Gurdip Singh Gahunia and Basil Marcellinius Toussaint were each ordered to pay $100,000.
The group was also ordered to pay "disgorgements" of the money they obtained from investors totalling $2.1-million, and face bans on trading securities or acting as officers of public companies. The OSC has ordered money to be returned to investors if it is collected, the commission said.
Janet McFarland