August 27, 2007 Decisions and Freeze and cease trade orders Securities

Montréal – At the request of the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), the Bureau de décision et de révision en valeurs mobilières (BDRVM) issued a cease trade order on August 10, 2007 against Arial Trading LLC, Saxon Financial Services LTD, Saxon Consultants LTD, Merchant Capital Markets S.A., Merchant Capital Markets, Meisner Corporation, Meisner Inc. S.A. and Meisner  Incorporated.

The AMF took action based on the following allegations:

• These companies, which have places of business outside Québec, acted as dealers or advisers without being registered with the AMF, thereby violating sections 148 and 149 of the Securities Act, R.S.Q. c. V-1.1 (the “Act”);
• The companies solicited investors in Québec and elsewhere in Canada and offered them investments in the gas industry and currency transactions. However, the distributions being offered were not approved by the AMF, as required under section 11 of the Act;
• The Respondents promised investors that they would earn large profits and used direct and aggressive marketing techniques.

The order was requested by the AMF to defend the public interest and ensure investor protection, and is part of joint efforts carried out by the securities authorities in Canada with respect to the enforcement of administrative recourses.

The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec’s financial sector.

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