ASC finds that Ali Ghani, Prism, Summerside Development Trust and others perpetrated a fraud on investors

CALGARY, AB, Nov. 10, 2023 /CNW/ - The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) has found that Ali Ghani and the following entities controlled by Ghani perpetrated a fraud on investors: Summerside Development Trust, Summerside Commercial Trust, Prism Summerside Limited Partnership, Prism Summerside Development Corp. and Prism Real Estate Investment Corporation.

An ASC panel determined that Ghani and the other named entities misappropriated over $3.4 million from the development and sale of a strip mall in the Summerside neighbourhood of Edmonton, Alberta. The panel found that proceeds from the December 2017 sale of the strip mall were used for the benefit of other Ghani-controlled businesses and entities without authorization or disclosure to the investors, resulting in a total loss of their investments.

The proceeding will now move into a second phase to determine what, if any, orders for sanction or cost-recovery ought to be made against Ghani and the other respondents. The timing of the next steps will be set after hearing from the parties.

A copy of the decision is available on the ASC website at asc.ca.

The ASC would like to express gratitude to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) for their assistance in this matter.

The ASC is the regulatory agency responsible for administering the province's securities laws. It is entrusted with fostering a fair and efficient capital market in Alberta and with protecting investors. As a member of the Canadian Securities Administrators, the ASC works to improve, coordinate and harmonize the regulation of Canada's capital markets.

SOURCE Alberta Securities Commission

For Media Inquiries: Tanja McMorris, Senior Advisor, Communications, [email protected]; For Investor Inquiries: ASC Public Inquiries, Toll Free 1.877.355.4488