On March 23, 2017, the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) announced that it had concluded a settlement agreement in Re Jawhari, with an Edmonton resident named Khalid Jawhari for trading in securities of Artek Exploration Ltd. (Artek) on a tip from a friend.
As background, on February 23, 2015, Artek announced it had entered into an arrangement with a purchaser (Purchaser) pursuant to which the Purchaser agreed to acquire all of the issued outstanding common shares of Artek. Prior to the announcement, Jawhari had a conversation with an employee (the Employee) of the Purchaser regarding Artek. In that conversation, the Employee had told Jawhari that the Purchaser was looking at Artek, Artek was a good buy and the Employee was planning on purchasing shares of Artek. Jawhari purchased 41,500 shares of Artek on February 20, 2015, through a numbered company, following the conversation. Three days after Jawhari's purchase, Artek announced that the Purchaser was acquiring the outstanding shares of Artek at a 61 per cent premium to its then average trading price. Jawhari sold his Artek shares on February 23 and 25 for a profit of $39,868.
Under the settlement agreement, Jawhari paid the ASC $59,802 (1.5 times the profit he earned from his trading), plus $7,500 in investigation costs. He also agreed to cease trading in securities for three years, except through a single account, with a registrant having possession of the agreement.
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