The B.C. Securities Commission announced June 5 the now former director of a small public company headquartered in Vancouver has been charged with two counts of criminal insider trading.
Douwe van Hees was charged with two counts of prohibited insider trading for allegedly using inside information obtained from Shaun Pollard, who is already facing charges of tipping and recommending someone trade securities while knowing an undisclosed material fact.
Pollard is alleged to have possessed that information “by virtue of their employment, office, duties and/or occupation with an issuer,” according to a statement from the commission.
Van Hees also allegedly used inside information by virtue of “being a shareholder and/or having a business or professional relationship with an issuer.”
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Van Hees had a bail hearing on May 29 in Vancouver Provincial Court and was released after paying a $150,000 deposit and agreeing to report to a bail supervisor when required. He is also to have no contact with Pollard, the former CFO at Westhaven Gold Corp. (TSXV: WHN).
The commission provided no details as to what company Van Hees was involved with in connection to the allegations.
Van Hees was, as of June 4, a director of Infinico Metals Corp. (TSXV: INFM), which announced his resignation “due to personal reasons.”
The company trades for half a cent per share.
The commission’s criminal prosecutions division has a thin track record of prosecutions pertaining to the capital markets.
Since Jan. 1, 2020, the commission has secured criminal convictions against nine individuals: two for failure to comply with an order, three for theft over $5,000, three for fraud over $5,000 and one for forged documents.
Four cases resulted in prison terms, with four years being the stiffest sentence.
Total restitution (penalties and disgorgement) amounted to close to $3 million.
None of the cases related to the public markets, and instead involved private capital-raising investment schemes.
