Norshield - Yves Tardif fined $104,000

Decisions and Freeze and cease trade orders Securities

Montréal - On April 29, 2011, Judge Marie-Josée Hénault, Justice of the Peace of the Court of Québec (Criminal and Penal Division), district of Longueuil, imposed fines totalling $104,000 on Yves Tardif, twice the minimum fine set by the Securities Act.

In January 2011, Yves Tardif pleaded guilty to all charges against him in the Norshield matter, namely, seven counts for acting illegally as a dealer, seven counts for aiding with illegal distributions and two counts for making misrepresentations in respect of a transaction in securities.

In April 2010, Yves Tardif was fined a total of $453,000 for similar violations in connection with the Mount Real matter.

In March 2010, the AMF launched 11 penal proceedings for the illegal sale of investment vehicles related to Norshield. To date, five representatives have been found guilty (Éric Couture, Christophe Balayer, William Marston, Francesco Iacono and Yves Tardif) and fines totalling $196,500 have been imposed.

The Autorité des marchés financiers ("AMF") is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec's financial industry.

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