BCSC alleges misrepresentations and false or misleading statements by mineral exploration company
VANCOUVER, BC, Sept. 20, 2021 /CNW/ - The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) alleges that a Vancouver-based mining exploration company and two of its directors made misrepresentations and false or misleading statements about sales of its shares.
New Point Exploration Corp. (New Point) announced in two news releases in the summer of 2018 that it had raised aggregate proceeds of more than $6.2 million through two separate private placements. In addition, the company – which has since changed its name to Bam Bam Resources Corp. – filed two material change reports that contained the same information. Bam Bam is a reporting issuer in B.C. and its shares trade on the Canadian Securities Exchange.
However, New Point did not disclose that it retained only $1.3 million. The rest of the proceeds of the sales had already been spent on, or was owed for, consulting fees.
By announcing the proceeds from the private financings in news releases but failing to disclose that it would not be keeping all of the funds, the BCSC alleges that New Point made statements to investors that it knew – or ought to reasonably have known – were misrepresentations. The BCSC also alleges that the material change reports provided information that was materially misleading or false in a record that had to be filed under the Securities Act.
In addition, the BCSC alleges that New Point's former Chief Executive Officer, Bryn Gardener-Evans of Calgary, and New Point's Chief Financial Officer, Norman Wareham of North Vancouver, committed the same violations of the Act. Gardener-Evans was a director of New Point when both news releases were issued, while Wareham was a director when the first news release was issued.
The BCSC's allegations have not been proven. The commission will schedule a hearing date in October 2021.
About the British Columbia Securities Commission (www.bcsc.bc.ca)
The British Columbia Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating capital markets in British Columbia through the administration of the Securities Act. Our mission is to protect and promote the public interest by fostering:
- A securities market that is fair and warrants public confidence
- A dynamic and competitive securities industry that provides investment opportunities and access to capital
Learn how to protect yourself and become a more informed investor at www.investright.org
SOURCE British Columbia Securities Commission
Media Contact: Elise Palmer, 604-899-6830; Public inquiries: 604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 (toll free), [email protected]
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