SEC lauds DOJ indictment of Abra Mining execs

For illegal trading

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission welcomed the Department of Justice’s recommendation to file charges against Abra Mining & Industrial Corp. for illegal trading of shares.

The SEC said the DOJ, acting upon the complaint filed by the commission, has indicted Abra Mining, its directors, officers, transfer agent and certain stockholders for the unauthorized and fraudulent trading of shares from 2015 to 2019.

The SEC said a resolution issued on Aug. 12 found prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction to charge Abra Mining for violation of Section 8 of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC), in relation to Sections 61, 62 and 63 of the Revised Corporation Code.

The DOJ also implicated company officers James Beloy, Amelia Beloy, Premy Ann Beloy and Joel Albert Beloy.

Abra Mining and its officers were likewise charged for violation of Section 26.1 of the SRC, together with stock transfer agent Asian Transfer & Registry Corp. as well as stockholders Joseph Acuesta, Andrei Vincent Freight Services Corp., Jubileum Air and Sea Logistics Inc., Ferdinand Collado, Leila Collado and Susan May Gacelo.

“The indictment of Abra Mining, its officers, stock transfer agent and stockholders marks a vital step in upholding trust and confidence in our capital market,” SEC chairperson Francis Lim said.

“The SEC remains steadfast in its commitment to hold accountable any entity found to have violated that trust, and ensure that they are brought before the proper venues to answer for their actions,” he said.

A criminal complaint was filed by the SEC before the DOJ in May 2024 after discovering that Abra Mining issued shares in excess of those registered with the SEC and listed with the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE).

It said that the unregistered or unlisted shares of stock were then offered to the public, through the PSE, upon lodgment with the Philippine Depositary and Trust Corp. (PDTC).

An investigation by the commission’s Markets and Securities Regulation Department showed that the number of Abra Mining shares lodged with PDTC totaled 258.96 billion as of February 2021.

However, the SEC said the registration statement rendered effective by the commission covered only 95 billion shares, while the number of shares authorized for listing in the PSE totaled 72.95 billion shares only.

According to the commission, the number of Abra Mining shares lodged with PDTC also exceeded the 99.29 billion issued shares and 199.29 billion outstanding shares indicated in the company’s financial statements.

The DOJ said that circumstances relating to the unregistered shares from 2015 to 2019 appear to follow a specific scheme designed to defraud or deceive the public into investing in worthless securities.

The scheme involved Abra Mining entering into transactions with respondents Leila and Ferdinand Collado, Gacelo, Jubileum Air and Sea Logistics and Andrei Vincent Freight Services involving the unregistered or over-issued shares.

The SEC said that despite failing to pay for the shares, Abra Mining proceeded with the issuance of the corresponding stock certificates in favor of the aforementioned persons and entities.

It said that the unregistered shares were facilitated and validated by Asian Transfer and were then lodged with PDTC through their respective brokers.

The unregistered shares were eventually traded or circulated to the investing public under the guise of legitimately issued shares, resulting in huge monetary gains for the respondents, the commission said.

The SEC had already imposed fines totaling more than P560 million on Abra Mining, its directors, officers, transfer agent and certain stockholders for the unauthorized trading activities prior to the filing of the complaint.

All officers and directors of the company and its transfer agent as well as the stockholders have also been disqualified from being an officer, director or person performing similar functions of an issuer of registered securities.