Why The RCMP Is Investigating The Income Trust Leak
Thu 29 Dec 2005
The RCMP was not obligated to conduct a criminal investigation following NDP MP and Finance Critic Judy Wasylycia-Leis' request to investigate possible insider trading in advance of Ralph Goodale's income trust announcement.
In fact, the RCMP conducted a thorough month-long review of the facts before launching the criminal investigation. To quote RCMP Commissioner Zaccardelli, "Based on the information obtained during the review, the RCMP will be conducting a criminal investigation."
The RCMP makes it clear that they do not investigate all complaints. On their website they explain the criteria for conducting an investigation:
"Although a single case may not appear significant at first glance,
other investors or members of the public may be making similar
complaints which begin to identify trends and may assist an IMET
[Integrated Market Enforcement Team] in planning future investigations.
"Any referred case is given a weighted score based upon a set of
criteria that ensures that the most important cases relating to our
investigative mandate receive the attention and resources they deserve. Cases with higher scores are more likely to be selected and investigated."
SOURCE:
http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/fio/imets-faq_e.htm
The RCMP is pursuing this case because there are serious grounds to believe that average investors were hurt by insider trading.
