The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has last night published a report on enforcement activity in 2014, with the numbers showing a drop in the number of cases where enforcement action had to be taken and, yet, a rise in the sum raised with regard to such action.
According to the report, monetary sanctions against those violating securities laws in the Canadian province, brought the OSC $73.45 million. The number is rather impressive, as it exceeds by 26% the sum the regulator received in 2013.
The biggest part of the sum – more than $49 million, comes from disgorgement. The rest comes from administrative monetary penalties and settlements.
During 2014, the Ontario watchdog had to review and tackle various cases of investment regulation infringement, ranging from insider trading to illegal distribution. Interestingly, there was not a single case of market manipulation. One more remark to make is that the number of violations fell down twice compared with levels seen in 2013. Obviously tougher penalties and warnings are starting to work.
Another piece of data supporting such a claim is the fact that the number of cases where protective sanctions (these include measures like registration restrictions, director bans and cease trade orders) were imposed fell from 425 in 2013 to 210 in 2014.
The role of international co-operation seems to be increasing, as the OSC replied to 79 requests from non-Ontario investment regulators in 2014, with the bulk of these assistance requests coming from the United States and other Canadian provinces. Overall, the number of requests for assistance from other jurisdictions rose in 2014 – in 2013 the number was 68.
The full OSC report on the enforcement measures taken in 2014 can be found here.
