The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have launched a criminal investigation into Bridging Finance Inc., the private lender that was placed into receivership in 2021 and whose collapse is estimated to result in $1.3-billion worth of losses for investors.
It is not clear what aspect of the scandal the RCMP is focusing on, and the investigation may not result in any charges. But there have been numerous allegations of wrongdoing since a Toronto judge, at the urging of Ontario’s securities regulator, placed Bridging under the control of PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. in April, 2021.
Although the RCMP is investigating, any criminal prosecution of Bridging officials or employees will face many obstacles, experts said in interviews, in part because of the preceding OSC investigation. Two of the biggest investment frauds in Canadian history, Bre-X and Sino-Forest, famously ended with no criminal charges being laid against any officials with either company. In both instances, sanctions were pursued by the OSC.
Any potential criminal charges stemming from the Bridging affair would also be complicated by the fact that OSC enforcement staff have faced some criticism for including the compelled testimony of Mr. Sharpe in a public court exhibit. When the OSC asked Mr. Sharpe why the payments seemed to always take place shortly after Bridging had advanced loans to Mr. McCoshen’s companies, Mr. Sharpe replied: “It certainly does not look good. That’s for sure.”
That's alot of people who now have reason to punish Mr and Mrs Sharpe.
it was/is a pretty motley crew behind this mess — so much for the alleged industry creds of these two !!
We need to chamge laws to make it easier to prosecute white collar crimes. We are a haven for these scum.