BCSC sanctions unregistered trading

An unregistered firm, and its owner, earned over $200,000 by connecting issuers with investors.
Now, they’re paying $120,000 in a settlement with the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC).

The regulator sanctioned the Vancouver-based firm, First Globe Capital International Inc., and its sole director, officer and shareholder, Anish Sunderji, for breaching securities laws with their efforts to connect issuers with prospective investors, including fund managers, retail and institutional investors.

Among other things, they allegedly set up meetings between investors and issuers, arranged overseas trips for investor meetings, and coordinated conference calls. These activities breached securities laws, the BCSC alleged.

According to the settlement, between 2019 and 2020, First Globe received $211,384 in finder’s fees for referring investors to six listed companies, which raised $4.7 million from the investors through private placements.

Now, First Global has admitted that it traded without registration, while Sunderji admitted to violating securities rules by permitting the firm’s misconduct.

To settle the allegations, they agreed to pay $120,000 to the BCSC.

The settlement noted that there’s no evidence that the breaches caused any losses for investors, that they admitted the misconduct before a notice of hearing was issued, and that they don’t have any history of misconduct.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.