Ian Telfer has released a statement describing the OSC allegations as “completely without merit” and saying he plans to vigorously defend against them.
Goldcorp Inc. (TSX: T.G, Stock Forum) ( NYSE: GG, Stock Forum) Chairman Ian Telfer has been linked to an investigation into insider trading by the Ontario Securities Commission.
The investigation centres on Eda Marie Agueci, a former executive assistant to the Chairman at Canadian investment bank GMP Securities. She is accused of tipping others about pending transactions for which her firm acted as an adviser and of trading in stocks of those companies herself.
The “scheme” allegedly involved securities of six companies and yielded $962,000 in illegal profits.
Telfer is among those named in a statement of allegations by OSC staff.
The Goldcorp Chairman is not accused of participating in the scheme. But OSC staff is alleging that he later facilitated other conduct by Agueci and her brother-in-law Santo (also known as Tino) Iacono, including allegedly disguising the beneficial ownership of securities and circumventing the monitoring by Agueci’s employer of her communications and trading.
These allegations have not been tested in a court of law and Telfer is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty.
Telfer has released a statement describing the allegations as “completely without merit” and saying he plans to vigorously defend against them.
“The allegation is that I acted contrary to the public interest by agreeing to include a family member of a business associate in a private financing,’’ said Telfer in a statement.
“There is no allegation that I breached any securities law or that I was involved in any insider trading scheme,’’ Telfer said. He went on to add that he was “very disappointed that the OSC is trying to stretch its jurisdiction to suggest that there is something wrong with agreeing to include someone’s relative in a private placement.”
Agueci was employed as an executive assistant to the Chairman and to the mining group of the investment banking department of GMP. Agueci is a resident of Toronto, Ont., who has been employed in the securities industry for 20 years. OSC staff is alleging that she was a central figure in the trading scheme.
She allegedly sought out and acquired, through her employment and from others, material non-public facts concerning pending corporate transactions, which she would communicate to other respondents.
In doing so, she repeatedly engaged in unlawful tipping, OSC staff alleges.
