Dutch fund manager accused of insider trading in Canada
The Canadian securities regulator suspects a fund manager of the Dutch investment company Plethora of insider trading. According to the Canadian authorities, 39-year-old Douwe van H. traded in stocks of the small Canadian gold exploration company Westhaven Gold in 2018 with insider knowledge, the Financieele Dagblad reported.
Van H.’s employer called the allegations “absurd.” The suspect himself would not comment to FD. The BC Securities Commission (BCSC), the financial regulator for the province of British Columbia, announced the allegations against Van H. and his arrest in June, but this went unnoticed in the Dutch media.
The BCSC suspects that Van H. abused inside information in 2018 about Westhaven Gold, a company in which the Plethora Precious Metals Fund was a major shareholder. In the fall of 2018, Westhaven published promising results regarding exploratory gold drilling in British Columbia, and the penny stock’s price skyrocketed by 800 percent.
FD wrote that Van H. invested in the stock using the information he accessed before it was published. Investigators have not specifically disclosed what information Van H. could access early because of his job at Plethora, and what he obtained from the company's CFO at the time, Shaun Pollard. The latter was arrested on two counts of insider trading nearly a year ago.
Van H. was formally charged with two counts of insider trading. The first was for "using inside information obtained from Shaun Pollard" which they obtained based on their work. The second charge was based on Van Hees was able to access on his own due to his position, the BCSC said.
Pollard was arrested in September on one count of sharing inside information, and "one count of recommending someone trade securities while knowing an undisclosed material fact," the BCSC wrote in a statement at the time. His trial is scheduled for September 23. A BCSC spokesperson told FD that Pollard and Van H.’s cases are being handled separately. The spokesperson would not disclose the amount of money involved in the suspected illegal securities trading.
The regulator affirmed that Pollard provided Van Hees with information, but in an email to NL Times, the office said it has not publicly claimed Pollard tipped off the Dutch fund manager about the 2018 announcement.
Van H. had a bail hearing in Vancouver in May and was released without travel restrictions after paying 150,000 dollars. His case is not yet at trial. A preliminary hearing against the Dutch man is scheduled for Wednesday in a Canadian court.
The Dutch investment firm Plethora invests in precious metals exploration in Europe and North America with two funds. Since 2014, the company has invested tens of millions of euros for approximately 60 wealthy Dutch people.
Plethora founder Peter Vermeulen told FD that the legal proceedings against Van H. are a “private matter” that is “completely separate” from the funds. He said Van H. considers the allegations against him “absurd.” Vermeulen has taken over as fund manager while the case is ongoing. FD could not reach Van H. for a comment.
According to Canadian financial reporters, it is rare for the BCSC to take cases of insider trading to court rather than settling the case itself with a fine. The last report of insider trading the BCSC filed with the Canadian prosecutor was filed five years ago.
