Alnoor Fatehali Nathoo settles with the ASC for market manipulation and insider reporting violations

EmitenTrust.com CALGARY, AB, Oct. 15, 2026 /CNW/ -- The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) has concluded a Settlement Agreement and Undertaking with Alnoor Fatehali Nathoo of Calgary, Alberta, for breaching Alberta securities laws. Nathoo participated in a market manipulation of Softlab9 Software Solutions Inc. (Softlab) shares and failed to comply with insider reporting requirements.

Softlab was a British Columbia reporting issuer whose shares traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange. Nathoo was a director of Softlab between October 2019 and September 2022.

Between February and November 2020, Nathoo coordinated his trading activity with others to create a false and misleading appearance of trading activity in Softlab shares and to artificially increase the company's share price. He used accounts in his own name and an account belonging to his spouse--over which he exercised control and had beneficial ownership--to engage in uptick trading and bid support.

Uptick trading and bid support are trading strategies used in market manipulation to give a false appearance of momentum or investor interest in a stock and to create an artificial price that does not reflect genuine supply and demand. This conduct can mislead investors, distort price discovery and undermine trust in the capital markets.

Nathoo admitted he engaged in conduct he knew may contribute to a false or misleading appearance of trading activity in, and an artificial price for, the shares of Softlab.

As a director of Softlab, Nathoo was required to file insider reports and make related disclosures. However, he failed to report shares he acquired from another Softlab director in November 2019 and Softlab shares he acquired through his spouse's account. Nathoo admitted that these failures breached Alberta securities laws.

As part of the Settlement Agreement and Undertaking, Nathoo agreed to:

• resign all positions he may hold as a director or officer of any reporting issuer;
• be prohibited for eight years from acting as a director or officer, engaging in investor relations activities, and participating in the capital markets in a management capacity;
• be prohibited for eight years from trading in or purchasing securities or derivatives, with limited exceptions; and
• pay $105,000 to the ASC, inclusive of $20,000 in costs.

Nathoo was a respondent in a Notice of Hearing issued by the ASC on April 2, 2024.

A copy of the Settlement Agreement and Undertaking is available online.

In June 2025, Michael Baron, another respondent, settled with the ASC in relation to market manipulation of Softlab shares.

The hearing into the allegations against the remaining respondent is in progress. For more information on the hearing, visit the Status of Current Proceedings page at asc.ca. 

The ASC gratefully acknowledges the assistance of the BC Securities Commission (BCSC), Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO), Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in this matter.

The ASC is the regulatory agency responsible for administering the province's securities laws. It is entrusted with fostering a fair and efficient capital market in Alberta and with protecting investors. As a member of the Canadian Securities Administrators, the ASC works to improve, coordinate and harmonize the regulation of Canada's capital markets.

SOURCE Alberta Securities Commission