The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) wants to crackdown on illegal insider trading with wiretaps.
During a speech to the Toronto Region Board of Trade on Thursday, Howard Wetston, chairman and CEO of the OSC, said wiretaps are an effective tool for gathering evidence during insider trading investigations and need to be employed by law enforcement.
“We’re therefore consulting with our partners — the RCMP, the OPP and the Ministry of the Attorney General — to have insider trading and tipping included on the list for which wiretaps could be used,” he said.
In May of last year, the OSC entered into partnership with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to investigate and prosecute financial crime. The unit is called the Joint Serious Offences Team (JSOT).
“What we’re good at is financial crime,” says Wetston. “What they’re good at is everything associated with financial crimes — undercover work, [working with] witnesses, intelligence.”
According to Wetston, JSOT has executed 20 search warrants since its inception that have led to criminal charges against seven offenders. Furthermore, the OSC action led to four offenders receiving a total of 63 months in 2013.
In his speech, Wetston also discussed the provincial regulator’s focus on capital formation, such its proposed prospectus exemptions, and corporate governance, including it’s proposal to have public companies disclose information regarding the representation of women on their boards.
“[Capital formation, corporate governance and enforcement] have been transformed by both structural and behavioural changes the require securities regulators to effectively respond or risk the decline of the markets we regulate,” said Wetston.