Alberta regulator settles Softlab market manipulation case with eight-year market ban

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Alberta Softlab settlement

Highlights

Nathoo admitted to coordinating trades to create false activity and artificially raise Softlab shares between February and November 2020, violating Alberta securities laws.
Under the ASC settlement, Nathoo agreed to resign directorships, accept an eight-year ban from directorships, investor relations, and trading, and pay C$105,000 including C$20,000 in costs.
The ASC investigation into Softlab share manipulation, supported by several Canadian regulators, remains ongoing for other parties, with one additional respondent settling in June 2025.

Settlement terms and admitted violations

As reported by Alberta Securities Commission, Nathoo has entered into a Settlement Agreement and Undertaking over market manipulation and insider reporting breaches involving Softlab shares. The regulator said Nathoo, of Calgary, was a Softlab director from October 2019 to September 2022, while the company was a British Columbia reporting issuer whose shares traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange.

Between February and November 2020, Nathoo coordinated trading with others to create a false and misleading appearance of activity in Softlab shares and to artificially raise the stock price, the ASC said. It said he used accounts in his own name and an account belonging to his spouse, over which he had control and beneficial ownership, to carry out uptick trading and bid support.

Nathoo admitted he engaged in conduct he knew could contribute to a false or misleading appearance of trading and an artificial price for Softlab shares. He also admitted he failed to file required insider reports for shares acquired from another Softlab director in November 2019 and for shares obtained through his spouse's account, in breach of Alberta securities laws.

Under the settlement, Nathoo agreed to resign any positions he may hold as a director or officer of any reporting issuer. He is also barred for eight years from acting as a director or officer, engaging in investor relations activities and participating in capital markets in a management capacity, while separate eight-year restrictions also prohibit him from trading or buying securities or derivatives, subject to limited exceptions.

The settlement also requires Nathoo to pay C$105,000, including C$20,000 in costs. The ASC had previously named him in a Notice of Hearing issued on April 2, 2024, and said the settlement document is available online.

Broader enforcement action in Canada

The case highlights continued scrutiny of trading practices that regulators say can distort price discovery and undermine investor confidence. The ASC described uptick trading and bid support as strategies used to create a false impression of momentum or investor interest rather than reflecting genuine supply and demand.

The matter remains active for other parties. The ASC said Michael Baron, another respondent, settled in June 2025 in connection with manipulation of Softlab shares, while proceedings against the remaining respondent are still in progress.

The regulator also said the investigation involved assistance from the BC Securities Commission, Autorité des marchés financiers, Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, FINTRAC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. The ASC oversees Alberta securities laws and is part of the Canadian Securities Administrators, which coordinates regulation across Canada's capital markets.

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