British Columbia’s securities regulator has imposed a 20-year market ban on Avtar Singh Dhillon, a Canadian stock promoter convicted of securities offences in the US, despite enforcement staff providing no specific evidence of investor losses in the provincial proceeding.
The decision stopped short of the permanent prohibition sought by the British Columbia Securities Commission’s enforcement staff. Dhillon had requested a 15-year restriction and exemptions allowing him to retain certain business interests.
The panel determined that his conduct warranted substantial restrictions, but gave less weight to investor harm because supporting evidence had not been provided.
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The BCSC announced the sanctions publicly on Tuesday, extending the consequences of a US criminal case into BC’s capital markets.
Dhillon’s US conviction concerned undisclosed securities transactions involving Arch Therapeutics and a separate stock-promotion arrangement involving Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals.
According to the Department of Justice, Dhillon and his former attorney, Daniel Martinez, placed 2.75 million Arch Therapeutics shares into a limited liability company controlled by Martinez.
The shares were subsequently sold without a valid exemption under US securities laws, generating approximately $1.34 million. Much of the proceeds went to third parties for Dhillon’s benefit.
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Dhillon also participated in an arrangement to compensate a newsletter analyst indirectly for promoting an Emerald Health Pharmaceuticals securities offering without disclosing the payment.
He pleaded guilty in December 2022 to three securities offences, including failing to disclose stock sales, aiding and abetting unregistered securities sales, and conspiracy involving undisclosed promotional compensation.
On December 4, 2024, a US federal judge sentenced him to four months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, with the first six months under home detention. He was also ordered to forfeit $1,493,500.
The BCSC’s order requires Dhillon to resign from any position as a director or officer of an issuer or registrant. For 20 years, he is prohibited from most securities trading, acting as a corporate director or officer, serving as a promoter or registrant, providing securities-market management or consulting services, and conducting promotional activities. Limited trading exceptions remain.
The regulator considered his misconduct a continuing risk because it involved different companies and extended across multiple periods.
Dhillon, a Canadian citizen and US permanent resident, has lived primarily in California since 2001. Enforcement staff also identified purported connections to two BC corporations, although their identities and any resulting corporate changes have not been independently established.
