The RCMP have charged Robert Vanier and Terry Beattie, both formerly of London, in connection with their involvement with Onco Petroleum Inc.
Robert Vanier 57, aka Carl Joseph Gagnon was the former president and CEO of Onco. He has been charged with submitting a false prospectus and two counts of perjury under the criminal code.
Terry Beattie, 53, aka Terry Ramage, the former treasurer at the company, has been charged with submitting a false prospectus.
Police allege Vanier and Beattie filed a false prospectus indicating Onco Petroleum Inc., an oil and gas company, had in excess of US$20 million available for development of its oil and gas resources when it did not.
The company began trading as a public company in November 2007 on the CNSX (formerly CNQ) at $5 per share. Its shares had dropped to a value of approximately $0.15 prior to a cease trade order being imposed in July 2008.
The company never resumed trading and it has since been delisted from the stock exchange and petitioned into bankruptcy.
The shares no longer have value and more than 1,400 individual investors have lost in excess of $30 million.
RCMP Superintendant Dave Bellamy said in a statement "The RCMP and our partner agencies are committed to maintaining investor confidence in the integrity of the public markets...The economic stability of Canada remains one of our main priorities.”
Both have been arrested and are scheduled to appear in a Toronto court on November 29.
The RCMP are thanking the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their help with the investigation.
