IT took a while but the Securities and Exchange Commission has finally come out with a decision that slapped P560 million in fines to officials of Abra Mining and Industrial Corp. and others for the sale in the stock market of unregistered and unlisted shares worth P1.6 billion.
As per SEC’s decision, Illegal issuances of AR shares totaling 169.05 billion shares covering 474 stock certificates were found to have been made from 2015 to 2019. These illegally issued shares were lodged and traded on the PSE in numerous transactions. In a separate decision, the MSRD also found AR’s transfer agent, Asian Transfer & Registry Corporation, as well as its president, Arline B. Adeva, corporate secretary Premy Ann, assistant corporate secretary Joseph M. Acuesta, and treasurer guilty of violating Sections 26 and 52.1 of the SRC, and Section 36.4.3.2 of the 2015 Implementing Rules and Regulations of the SRC.
In arriving at its decision, the SEC also combed through the legal defense of the Abra Mining officials, including the deposit payment for the stocks supposedly purchased through private placement first with the Banco de Oro account of Jeremias Beloy, with Account Number 0021800327024.