Canadian cryptocurrency firm collapsed due to Ponzi scheme by late founder, regulator says - Reuters | Canada News Media
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Canadian cryptocurrency firm collapsed due to Ponzi scheme by late founder, regulator says – Reuters

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TORONTO (Reuters) – Last year’s collapse of Canadian cryptocurrency trading platform Quadriga CX was due to a Ponzi scheme operated by founder Gerald Cotten, who died suddenly in December 2018, the country’s biggest securities regulator said on Thursday.

FILE PHOTO: Representations of virtual currency Bitcoin are seen in this picture illustration taken taken March 13, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Cotten died at age 30 from complications of Crohn’s disease while volunteering at an orphanage in India, according to the Facebook page of Quadriga CX, which announced his death in January 2019.

“What happened at Quadriga was an old-fashioned fraud wrapped in modern technology,” staff at the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) wrote in a report.

“While public release of an investigative report is rare, we believe the tens of thousands of Ontarians who entrusted Quadriga with their money and crypto assets deserve to know what happened.”

Facing losses when the price of crypto assets changed, Cotten covered the ensuing shortfall with other clients’ deposits, according to the report.

Richard Niedermayer, lawyer for Cotten’s widow, Jennifer Robertson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Some 76,000 investors from Canada and around the world collectively lost at least C$169 million ($124.2 million)

from the collapse of Quadriga in 2019, the statement added.

About C$115 million of that was due to Cotten’s fraudulent trading, the regulator said.

When Cotten died, the platform owed approximately C$215 million to clients, according to the OSC. Cotten also siphoned off assets for personal use, transferring about C$24 million to himself and Robertson between May 2016 and January 2018, the report said.

About C$46 million was recovered by the bankruptcy trustee and paid to clients, and Cotten and Robertson returned assets worth about C$22 million, it said.

Reporting by Nichola Saminather in Toronto; Editing by Denny Thomas and Matthew Lewis

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Cineplex reports $24.7M Q3 loss on Competition Tribunal penalty

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TORONTO – Cineplex Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year ago as it was hit by a fine for deceptive marketing practices imposed by the Competition Tribunal.

The movie theatre company says it lost $24.7 million or 39 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $29.7 million or 40 cents per diluted share a year earlier.

The results in the most recent quarter included a $39.2-million provision related to the Competition Tribunal decision, which Cineplex is appealing.

The Competition Bureau accused the company of misleading theatregoers by not immediately presenting them with the full price of a movie ticket when they purchased seats online, a view the company has rejected.

Revenue for the quarter totalled $395.6 million, down from $414.5 million in the same quarter last year, while theatre attendance totalled 13.3 million for the quarter compared with nearly 15.7 million a year earlier.

Box office revenue per patron in the quarter climbed to $13.19 compared with $12 in the same quarter last year, while concession revenue per patron amounted to $9.85, up from $8.44 a year ago.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:CGX)

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Restaurant Brands reports US$357M Q3 net income, down from US$364M a year ago

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TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.

The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.

Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.

On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:QSR)

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Electric and gas utility Fortis reports $420M Q3 profit, up from $394M a year ago

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ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.

The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.

Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.

Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.

On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:FTS)

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