SEC files complaint vs Abra Mining officials, owners

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a criminal complaint against the directors, officers, transfer agent and stockholders of the embattled Abra Mining & Industrial Corp., in relation to the alleged illegal sale and trade of fraudulent shares from 2015 to 2019.

The corporate watchdog on Sunday said it had charged 14 respondents with 441 counts of violations of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC) and the Revised Corporation Code.

According to the SEC, the respondents “were, acting in concert, engaged in the offering and selling of unregistered” shares of Abra Mining.

Those implicated in the case lodged with the Department of Justice on May 3 were Abra Mining president James Beloy; corporate secretary Amelia Beloy; and directors Conde Claro Venus, Carmelo Rafael Tansengco, Joel Albert Beloy and Ma. Belinda Gaskell.

Also named as respondents were Arline Adeva, Premy Ann Beloy, Joel Albert Beloy, Joseph Acuesta and Ma. Agnes Hoffman, all officials of stock transfer agent Asian Transfer and Registry Corp. Stockholders Jubileum Air and Sea Logistics Inc., Andrei Vincent Freight Services Corp., Ferdinand Collado, Leila Collado and Susan Gacelo were also implicated.

The complaint stemmed from irregularities in Abra Mining’s shares lodged with the Philippine Depositary and Trust Corp. (PDTC) that the SEC said way exceeded the number of shares listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE). The bourse requires that all fully paid and issued outstanding shares be applied for listing.

Shares traded on the PSE are deposited with the PDTC under the accounts of broker dealers, through which stockholders or investors trade shares.

Excess shares

The SEC Markets and Securities Regulation Department (MSRD) found that the number of shares of the Beloy family-led company lodged with the PDTC totaled 258.96 billion, but only 72.95 billion shares were authorized for listing.

Under the SRC, securities may not be sold or offered for sale or distribution in the country without a registration statement duly filed with and approved by the SEC.

In an April 8 decision, the MSRD found the respondents guilty of violating the SRC and RCC, and imposed fines totaling P560 million, one of the largest such penalties meted out by the regulator.

MSRD director Oliver Leonardo previously told reporters that they had already received an appeal from Abra Mining regarding the penalties and that this was being evaluated.

Abra Mining has claimed that its former president, Jeremias Beloy, and “unknown cohorts” were behind the fraudulent registration and listing of shares.On April 16, the PSE said it was moving forward with efforts to delist Abra Mining, whose trading of shares has been suspended since March 4, 2021, due to the controversy.

Under the PSE’s delisting rules, an involuntarily delisted company cannot apply for relisting within five years from delisting. Directors and executive officers are likewise disqualified from becoming part of any company applying for listing within the same period. INQ