Securities violators getting more jail time: OSC report
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) logo is displayed on the door to hearing rooms in Toronto.
Photograph by: Norm Betts/Bloomberg , x
The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) logo is displayed on the door to hearing rooms in Toronto.
Photograph by: Norm Betts/Bloomberg , x
The Ontario Securities Commission highlighted its pursuit of time behind bars for securities violators in a report on its 2011 enforcement efforts published Friday.
The provincial regulator said its staff obtained more than 14 years in jail sentences last year, up from 195 days in 2010.
The OSC’s report comes just two days after the Canadian Securities Administrators, the umbrella group for all 13 provincial and territorial regulators, reported on enforcement activity across the country. The CSA said eight individuals sentenced to jail terms for securities-related offences were from Ontario.
“I’ve been really pleased on our progress in terms of putting people in jail this year,” Tom Atkinson, director of enforcement at the OSC, said Wednesday.
The OSC currently has five cases before provincial courts, the report said. The regulator can also pursue allegations of misconduct at the tribunal level and use proactive tools like orders banning trade or freezing assets.
Echoing the national trend seen in Wednesday’s CSA report, Ontario regulators were busy dealing with “illegal distribution” offences last year, scams like boiler rooms or Ponzi schemes.
Such cases accounted for 13 of 25 proceedings commenced last year and 14 of 27 proceedings concluded.
The OSC also reported on monetary sanctions including fines, settlements, disgorgement (where the respondent pays the amount of the ill-gotten gains to the OSC) and costs.
The regulator obtained a total of $60.4-million last year, but admitted it has had difficulties collecting in many cases.
The provincial regulator said its staff obtained more than 14 years in jail sentences last year, up from 195 days in 2010.
The OSC’s report comes just two days after the Canadian Securities Administrators, the umbrella group for all 13 provincial and territorial regulators, reported on enforcement activity across the country. The CSA said eight individuals sentenced to jail terms for securities-related offences were from Ontario.
“I’ve been really pleased on our progress in terms of putting people in jail this year,” Tom Atkinson, director of enforcement at the OSC, said Wednesday.
The OSC currently has five cases before provincial courts, the report said. The regulator can also pursue allegations of misconduct at the tribunal level and use proactive tools like orders banning trade or freezing assets.
Echoing the national trend seen in Wednesday’s CSA report, Ontario regulators were busy dealing with “illegal distribution” offences last year, scams like boiler rooms or Ponzi schemes.
Such cases accounted for 13 of 25 proceedings commenced last year and 14 of 27 proceedings concluded.
The OSC also reported on monetary sanctions including fines, settlements, disgorgement (where the respondent pays the amount of the ill-gotten gains to the OSC) and costs.
The regulator obtained a total of $60.4-million last year, but admitted it has had difficulties collecting in many cases.
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