The Alberta Securities Commission disclosed that Behjat Haghshenas of Calgary admitted to illegal insider trading and agreed to pay a C$400,000 penalty.
Haghshenas was a Senior Reservoir Specialist for Vermilion Energy Inc VET. In early 2022, Vermillion was in discussions with Leucrotta about potentially acquiring the company.
The regulator said that Haghshenas has also agreed to a 10-year trading ban as part of a settlement agreement with the commission.
Almost immediately after Vermillion and Leucrotta publicly announced the acquisition, Haghshenas sold her Leucrotta shares for a profit of C$146,400.
Through her employment, Haghshenas became aware of material facts about the potential acquisition that were not generally disclosed, and she purchased Leucrotta shares while in possession of those facts, as per the regulatory.
In terms of penalty and duration of the trading ban, this is the largest settlement in around ten years, as per Reuters.
For the year ended June 30, Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) members imposed fines or obtained C$496,008 for illegal insider trading (vs. C$682,554 prior year), as per the report.
Earlier this month, Vermilion stated that it is expecting production of 82,000 – 86,000 boe/d for 2024.
Price Action: VET shares are up 3.05% at $12.84 premarket on the last check Thursday.
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