|
 |
| 2002 News and Press Releases |
|
|
HEADLINE ARCHIVED:
Cinar Co-Founders Fined $1 Million Each, Banned From Company For Five Years
By: Allan Swift
Canadian Press Newswire. March 15, 2002
_________________________________________________________________________
Excerpt: MONTREAL (CP) The husband and wife team who founded film producer Cinar
Inc. have been fined $1 million each and banned from being involved in the company which nearly collapsed in a financial scandal two years ago. In a ruling Friday, the Quebec Securities Commission said the fine and penalties on Ronald Weinberg and Micheline Charest were the most severe the regulator has ever rendered. Weinberg and Charest are not allowed to be directors or executives of Cinar, any of its subsidiaries, or any company traded on a Canadian stock exchange, for five years. The two film executives were ousted from their jobs as chairman, co-CEOs and director after a financial scandal erupted at Cinar, which produces popular animated children's shows such as Arthur and Caillou. ''The last two years have been extremely difficult for us and our family,'' Charest said soberly as she and her husband emerged from the closed-door securities commission meeting where the penalties were delivered. ''I hope we can envision the future with a bit more optimism.'' Even though the couple still has financial control of the company, they will not be allowed to take part in any corporate votes, such as electing a new executive, except through a voting trust independent of them and approved by the securities commission. They will, however, be allowed to exercise their vote if there is an offer to buy Cinar. Richard Proulx, prosecutor for the securities commission, said the provincial watchdog reached a deal with the couple in closed door hearings because there are class action suits against Cinar by shareholders still pending in Canada and the United States. ''We're very satisfied (with the decision) because it was the most severe penalty ever in Quebec, and one of the most severe in Canada,'' said Proulx. ''We feel it is fair and reasonable.'' Since Charest and Weinberg were kicked off the board, the company has been run by new directors and executives who have been trying to determine the company's true financial picture and seek a buyer. Cinar was delisted from stock exchanges after the company's stock was battered in the wake of a financial scandal that produced mounting losses and led to major questions about the company's finances. Cinar, once a stock market darling, has been investigated for investing $122 million US with an investor based in the Bahamas without the board's knowledge. The company also paid Americans to write movie scripts while accepting federal grants for Canadian content. However, a Quebec Crown attorney said in January the province would not file criminal charges against the company, citing the ''type and quality of evidence'' submitted by the RCMP after a long investigation. Cinar had already agreed to pay Canadian and Quebec tax authorities $17.8 million in a settlement that did not include any admission of wrongdoing, and $2.6 million to federal funding agency Telefilm Canada.
|
|
|
