Bre-X faces multiple suits following Busang debacle
Bre-X faces multiple suits following Busang debacle
MONTREAL (JP): Embattled junior mining Canadian firm Bre-X
Minerals Ltd, after being suspended from operating in Indonesia
and delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange, now faces multiple
lawsuits following the Busang debacle in East Kalimantan.
Most local newspapers still run the Busang debacle on their
front pages and report that the infamous Bre-X was being
assaulted on several new fronts.
Bre-X faces at least three legal actions; from disappointed
shareholders, the Ontario Securities Commission, the Toronto
Stock Exchange (TSE) and also possibly from the Indonesian
government.
Bre-X has been hit with at least seven class action suits
from shareholders seeking repayment of their losses from
investing in Bre-X shares.
Harvey Strosberg of Winsor, Ontario, lawyer for the only
Canadian group to have filed a class action suit, has named Bre-X
and its officials in the lawsuits.
The named officials include Bre-X chairman and chief
executive David Walsh, his wife Jeanette, who acts as corporate
secretary, and chief geologist John Felderhof.
Harvey Strosberg has said he is looking to broaden the list
of defendants to include brokerage firms for advising people to
buy the shares.
Canada's premier exchange TSE delisted Bre-X Wednesday saying
that it "no longer meets the required listing standards."
After delisting Bre-X, TSE is almost certain to seek another
legal action against the disgraced company for alleged insider
trading practices and disclosure of incorrect, misleading
information.
The Indonesian government has frozen all activities of Bre-X
and its subsidiaries in Indonesia. The freeze affects Bre-X and
Bresea, which last month were awarded contracts of work to
explore for and develop minerals in Indonesia.
Minister of Mines and Energy Ida Bagus Sudjana has said that
the national police have been ordered to investigate the
disparity between Bre-X's tests and those by Strachcona.
Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo, who was now in
Montreal for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, said
yesterday that the Busang debacle was more a problem for Canada
than for Indonesia.(rid)