OSC Rules Sino-Forest Defrauded Investors And Misled Investigators.

Timber company Sino-Forest and a few of its top officials defrauded investors, misled investors and “engaged in deceitful or dishonest conduct,” the Ontario Securities Commission ruled in one of Canada’s biggest corporate fraud cases.

These executives incorporate previous chairman and CEO Allen Chan and in addition Albert Ip, Alfred C.T. Hung and George Ho. The commission rejected the fraud claim against Simon Yeung. In its choice, however, the OSC said every one of the five of the previous executives had misled investigators.

Sino-Forest, which was built up in 1994, was previously the most valuable forestry company recorded on the Toronto Stock Exchange. In spite of the fact that it was situated in Ontario, the company conducted the greater part of its business in China until the point that it crumpled in 2012.

There were more than 170 hearing days, 22 witnesses and more than 22,000 pages of transcripts.

Defense lawyers for the executives debated that what the OSC called fraud were really mistakes made by a quickly developing company. They additionally argued that practices that may appear to be unusual in a Canadian setting were typical business traditions in China.

The previous executive now confront the likeliness of being for all time restricted from Canada’s capital markets, or fined up to $1 million for every inability to follow to Ontario securities law.