The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) announced the launch of its own Joint Serious Offences Team (JSOT) in partnership with the RCMP in Alberta on Wednesday in a bid to bolster enforcement.
Alberta’s JSOT is modelled on the Ontario Securities Commission’s (OSC) JSOT unit and the new nine-person team in Alberta has been created to investigate and prosecute both quasi-criminal and criminal cases involving securities law violations.
The new team — which is comprised of regulatory investigators, forensic accountants, lawyers and police officers — will focus on serious frauds and repeat offenders. In a news conference, Stan Magidson, chairman and CEO the ASC, pointed to a recent major Ponzi scheme in Alberta as the sort of case the new unit could work on, and attack more efficiently, by having police and regulators working together.
The collaboration will also expand the range of investigative tools available to the ASC. For example, the RCMP can get access to wiretap evidence, whereas the ASC cannot, Magidson noted.
“[Alberta’s] JSOT combines the ASC’s expertise in capital markets and securities investigations with the RCMP’s policing experience and access to information to investigate and prosecute serious violations of the law,” Magidson said.
If the JSOT uncovers criminal offences, the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service will prosecute them whereas lawyers at the ASC will continue to prosecute quasi-criminal cases.
“Collaboration between the RCMP and ASC provides more thorough access to information and intelligence collected provincially and through national and international networks,” said RCMP inspector Allan Lai, acting officer-in-charge of the force’s Calgary division, at the news conference. “It creates opportunities to act on live intelligence, avoid duplication of investigations and ensure cases are prosecuted in the most appropriate forum.”
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