March 3, 2009 Securities

Montréal – The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) has launched three penal proceedings against Yves Daigle, Jean-Pierre Vianna, Andrew Murray, Michel Chiasson, Michael Carty, Flamingo Capital Inc., Flamingo Management Inc., Sylvie Picard and Michel Latour in the Court of Québec (Criminal and Penal Division), districts of Laval and Longueuil, and is seeking fines totalling $1,744,000.

In the first suit, the AMF filed 47 charges against Yves Daigle and is seeking fines of $540,000 for:

• acting as a dealer and/or adviser without being registered as such with the Québec regulatory authority, thereby violating sections 148 and 202 of the Securities Act (the "Act") (18 counts);
• aiding, by act or omission, various companies, including Flamingo Capital Inc. and Flamingo Management Inc., in making a distribution of a form of investment governed by the Act without a receipt for a prospectus from the Québec regulatory authority, thereby violating sections 11 and 202, with reference to section 208 of the Act (21 counts);
• making misrepresentations in respect of a transaction in securities, thereby committing an offence under section 197(1) of the Act (1 count);
• representing, in effecting a transaction in securities, that these securities would be resold or purchased, thereby committing an offence under section 199 of the Act (7 counts).

The AMF filed 28 charges against Jean-Pierre Vianna and is seeking fines of $336,000 for:

• acting as a dealer and/or adviser without being registered as such (14 counts);
• aiding, by act or omission, various companies, including Flamingo Capital Inc. and Flamingo Management Inc., in making a distribution of a form of investment governed by the Act without a receipt for a prospectus (13 counts);
• making misrepresentations in respect of a transaction in securities (1 count).

The AMF filed 10 charges against Andrew Murray, a resident of Barbados, and is seeking fines of $250,000 for:

• aiding, by act or omission, Flamingo Capital Inc. and Flamingo Management Inc. in making a distribution of a form of investment governed by the Act without a receipt for a prospectus.

The AMF filed four charges against Michel Chiasson and is seeking fines of $36,000 for:

• acting as a dealer without being registered as such (2 counts);
• aiding, by act or omission, Flamingo Capital Inc. and/or Flamingo Management Inc. in making a distribution of a form of investment governed by the Act without a receipt for a prospectus (2 counts).

The AMF filed 2 charges against Michael Carty and is seeking fines of $6,000 for:

• acting as an adviser without being registered as such.

As part of the first suit, the AMF filed 16 and 2 charges respectively against Barbados-based Flamingo Capital Inc. and Flamingo Management Inc. and is seeking fines of $450,000 for:

• making a distribution of a form of investment governed by the Act without a receipt for a prospectus.

In the second suit, the AMF filed 10 charges against Sylvie Picard and is seeking fines of $90,000 for:

• acting as a dealer and/or adviser without being registered as such (5 counts);
• aiding, by act or omission, Flamingo Capital Inc. and/or Flamingo Management Inc. in making a distribution of a form of investment governed by the Act without a receipt for a prospectus (5 counts)

In the third suit, the AMF filed 4 charges against Michel Latour and is seeking fines of $36,000 for:

• acting as a dealer and/or adviser without being registered as such (2 counts);
• aiding, by act or omission, Flamingo Capital Inc. and/or Flamingo Management Inc. in making a distribution of a form of investment governed by the Act without a receipt for a prospectus (2 counts)

The fines being sought in connection with these suits range from two to five times the minimum fines prescribed under the Act. In determining the amount of the fines, the AMF considered the objective and subjective seriousness of the offences as well as the need for general deterrence and investor protection. Losses suffered by investors, estimated at more than US$330,000, were also taken into account as an aggravating factor.

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

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