Close X
Wednesday, November 13, 2024
ADVT 
National

Ontario regulator allows Conrad Black to testify on activities at Hollinger

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Oct, 2014 10:49 AM

    TORONTO - Conrad Black will be allowed the right to speak in his own defence before Canada's largest provincial securities commission.

    The Ontario Securities Commission will also allow testimony from two witnesses proposed by the former media mogul, including his former secretary.

    But the OSC cautions that it doesn't want to revisit issues that have already been through the U.S. legal system.

    The OSC alleges that Black was involved in a "scheme" with other directors and officers of Hollinger Inc. and Hollinger International to use non-competition payments to line their pockets with funds that should have gone to the companies.

    On Monday, a lawyer for Black argued that the former newspaper baron should be allowed to testify before the quasi-judicial OSC because he poses no threat to capital markets and therefore shouldn't be banned by the Ontario Securities Commission from trading securities or becoming a director of public companies.

    His lawyer also wanted to call several other witnesses, including Black's former secretary as well as directors and lawyers of the former Hollinger.

    If Black loses his case before the OSC, he could face monetary and non-monetary penalties and be forced to repay the expenses of the OSC hearings.

    Black had sought to have the proceedings dismissed and argued that a temporary order, which has been in place for years, already bars him from being a registrant or a director or officer of a reporting issuer in Ontario.

    The temporary order will continue to be in effect until Black makes a request to have it lifted, or the commission decides to remove the restrictions.

    The OSC case against Black began in 2005, but was adjourned while he faced criminal charges in the United States.

    Of the many charges levelled against him by the U.S. Justice Department, Black was eventually only convicted of one count of fraud and one count of obstruction of justice.

    He served 37 months of a 42-month sentence in a Florida prison, and was fined US$125,000.

    The OSC hearings also include allegations against John Boultbee, a Hollinger executive was found guilty of three counts of fraud by a U.S. jury in 2007.

    Boultbee had argued that his case should be heard separately from Black's hearing because he can't afford the expenses of travelling from British Columbia to be involved in a hearing that is mainly focused on Black. The hearing panel denied Boultbee's request on Wednesday.

    The OSC and Black's former business partners, David Radler and Peter Atkinson, reached separate plea agreements with the regulator in 2012 and 2013. Ahead of Black's trial, Radler had pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud at U.S District Court, and was sentenced to 29 months in jail and ordered to pay a fine of $250,000. He also had to testify against his former colleagues.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Whales grace B.C.'s marine mammal riches

    Whales grace B.C.'s marine mammal riches
    VICTORIA - Whale research in British Columbia has come a long way from the days when the Department of Fisheries and Oceans mounted a 50-calibre machine gun at Seymour Narrows north of Campbell River with the aim of shooting Killer whales to save more salmon for anglers.

    Whales grace B.C.'s marine mammal riches

    BCIT celebrates 50-year anniversary starting with 'Fab 50' event at first campus

    BCIT celebrates 50-year anniversary starting with 'Fab 50' event at first campus
    BURNABY, B.C. - It's been 50 years since then-premier W.A.C. Bennett officially opened the doors of the B.C. Institute of Technology in Burnaby, and that milestone is being celebrated at the school that now has five campuses.

    BCIT celebrates 50-year anniversary starting with 'Fab 50' event at first campus

    Government should do more to help Canada's troubled police officers

    Government should do more to help Canada's troubled police officers
    TORONTO - Some recent suicides among Canada's police officers have mental health advocates redoubling calls for more aggressive government action and greater public sympathy for the emotional well-being of law enforcement professionals.

    Government should do more to help Canada's troubled police officers

    Call growing louder for national prescription drug plan in Canada

    Call growing louder for national prescription drug plan in Canada
    OTTAWA - It's a buzzword in the medical community, although one that hasn't quite caught fire yet with Canadians at large: pharmacare, a national program that would see prescription drugs covered through a publicly funded system rather than out of pocket.

    Call growing louder for national prescription drug plan in Canada

    Rob Ford to return to hospital Tuesday for second round of chemotherapy

    Rob Ford to return to hospital Tuesday for second round of chemotherapy
    TORONTO - Rob Ford's brother says the ailing Toronto mayor will begin a second round of chemotherapy on Tuesday. Doug Ford says he will back in hospital then for the cancer treatment.

    Rob Ford to return to hospital Tuesday for second round of chemotherapy

    Vancouver Fire Crews Battle Large Blaze At Granville Gardens Building

    Vancouver Fire Crews Battle Large Blaze At Granville Gardens Building
    VANCOUVER - Vancouver's assistant fire chief says it's too early to confirm whether a blaze that ripped through an unoccupied assisted-living facility was suspicious.

    Vancouver Fire Crews Battle Large Blaze At Granville Gardens Building