Decision in brief: Manticore Labs OÜ, Enforcement Proceeding, Merits, August 26, 2024

Citation and CanLII Link

Manticore Labs OÜ, 2024 ONCMT 19

Adjudicators
Mary Condon (chair of the panel), Tim Moseley, M. Cecilia Williams
Date of Reasons:
File Number:
2023-24
Hearing Type:
Merits
Applicants / Respondents:
Manticore Labs OÜ (o/a Coinfield) and Manticore Labs Inc.

In this enforcement proceeding, the OSC says that Manticore Labs OÜ and Manticore Labs Inc. violated Ontario securities law by selling securities without being registered to do so, and without having filed a prospectus for those securities. A prospectus is a document that gives investors information about the investment.  The OSC says that Manticore Labs OÜ and Manticore Labs Inc. made false or misleading statements to its investors, and should also be sanctioned for other conduct.

Manticore Labs OÜ and Manticore Labs Inc. operated a crypto asset trading platform called CoinField. The OSC says that the contracts that CoinField users agreed to when they deposited money or crypto assets, and bought or sold crypto assets, are securities.

The Tribunal decided that the contracts that CoinField users agreed to are securities, and that Manticore Labs OÜ and Manticore Labs Inc. were in the business of trading securities without being registered to do so and without having filed a prospectus.

The Tribunal also decided that Manticore Labs OÜ and Manticore Labs Inc. made false statements to CoinField users in order to reassure them when they were trying to get their money back.

Lastly, the Tribunal decided that Manticore Labs OÜ and Manticore Labs Inc. could also be sanctioned for failing to maintain safe custody of investors’ assets and for failing to allow investors to withdraw their money.

As a result of this decision, the Tribunal will hold a hearing to decide what sanctions and costs should be ordered against Manticore Labs OÜ and Manticore Labs Inc. because of their conduct. 

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