The British Columbia Securities Commission has settled with a former officer and director of Jalna Resources Ltd. for failing to properly disclose company payments for investor relations activities to a firm he owned.

Daniel Matthews cannot be a director or officer of any issuer nor can he engage in any investor relations activities for at least five years. He has also agreed to pay the BCSC $25,000.

In the settlement with the BCSC, Matthews admitted that he breached securities laws when he allowed Jalna, which is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, to file financial statements that were misleading about investor relations services for the company. Matthews was the company’s president or a director during the period when Jalna failed to properly disclose details about an agreement for investor relations services that Jalna had with Incite Marketing Group Inc., a private company owned by Matthews.

In March 2000, Matthews directed Jalna to advance US$350,000 to Incite for investor relations services. Jalna did not publicly disclose this agreement or file details of it with the TSX-V as required. Jalna did not file a material change report with the BCSC describing the agreement as required under securities laws.

Neither Jalna nor Matthews disclosed that the agreement was a non-arms-length transaction and there was no written, signed contract detailing the nature or the specific activities that Incite was to provide Jalna. Matthews, as an officer or director of Jalna, was responsible for the company breaching securities laws and stock exchange regulations.

Matthews resigned as Jalna’s CEO and president on April 20, 2000, and as a director on Feb. 26, 2001.