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Gold/Mining/Energy : YBM Magnex Intl Sees Revenue Growth 30-35%/Yr In MagnetOp -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Winer who wrote (143)	5/28/1998 2:41:00 PM
From: thewiz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 314

Adrian, Just trying to get your expert opinion regarding the last posting. It appears as though the Exchange and YBM have mutually agreed to suspend trading until the company produces financial results in acceptable form. I would presume that this is expected of all public companies on the TSE and that YBM must have produced these in the past or they would have been de-listed some time ago. In return for this agreement it appears as though the OSC has rescinded all other other sanctions that were imposed and that YBM can resume its listing if it meets the original criteria and requirements of the TSE (which obviously it did at one time). In summary, if YBM produces satisfactory financial statements it will be again listed. What am I missing here??? Please help!

To: Winer who wrote (143)	5/29/1998 4:47:00 AM
From: Adrian du Plessis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 314

Magnex/Mafia series to resume next week + FT's Lex looks beyond TSE doors of perception The multi-part series, "YBM Magnex: Securities industry due diligence in a post Bre-X market", paused on May 13 1998 to allow for adequate appreciation of the efforts of the FBI, IRS, and other US federal agencies who combined on that date to raid the Newtown, Pennsylvania headquarters of YBM Magnex International Inc. (as part of an investigation into suspected money laundering, securities fraud and customs and immigration violations). Over the past two weeks, coverage of this international scandal - featuring a curious magnet company, some not-so-curious stock brokers and analysts, mutual fund managers/advisors and securities regulators, and some not-curious-in-the-least Russian mobsters - has been extensive and informative. At this juncture, YBM Magnex has an unidentified "independent committee" of its board members, and an unnamed "international investigative firm" probing what is so troubling to Deloitte & Touche - the company auditors who have raised concerns that "one or more illegal acts may have occurred" in connection with YBM's financials. Company spokesman Guy Scala has said he is wishing for a crystal ball so he can understand what is happening. Scala's predecessor as company spokesman, Jacob Bogatin, is probably wishing for something else. Bogatin, the president and CEO of YBM Magnex who consistently saw nothing wrong in the association of Russian criminal elements with the entities that spawned the former TSE 300 high-flyer, hasn't been quoted since the current issue of The Village Voice gained wide circulation. That's when the general public learned that Bogatin's brother, David, is a senior Russian crime figure who was sentenced to years in jail for a multimillion dollar gas tax swindle. Bogatin's most detailed public statement - post the FBI et al raid - appears to have been a posting made to the Silicon Investor web-site on May 17 1998 which suggested that myself and other on-line parties were responsible for his company's troubles. And so it goes these days in the mutual fund-driven junior stock market. Through all this controversy, the TSE's president, Rowland Fleming, has concluded that the YBM Magnex/Mafia situation is not bad for business. It's his expressed perception that the reputation of Canada's senior financial market has not been tarnished. With the world of Bay Street back on course, the time has come to resume my series. Parts 1 and 2, already available on-line, examined the context of "due diligence". The final parts in the series, which resumes publication next week, chronicle the efforts of YBM officials to silence their critics (following the March 1998 publication of articles about the company's unusual affairs in Canada Stockwatch), and detail the results of my investigation into YBM Magnex, Arigon, Arbat International, Magnex Rt, Sergei Mikhailov, Semion Mogilevich and the Russian mafia. Until then, enjoy your weekend, everyone. Here's one more item that some may not perceive: FRIDAY MAY 29 1998ÿÿTHE FINANCIAL TIMES OF LONDON Lexÿ CANADA: Scandal surrounding YBM Magnex Canada's reputation as a reputable financial marketplace is in serious need of repair. The scandal surrounding YBM Magnex, a Toronto-listed company that may have been used as a conduit to launder Russian crime money, comes less than a year after the Bre-X Minerals fraud. A first, basic remedy would be to tighten the listing requirements for new companies, not only for the main Toronto Stock Exchange, but also at the smaller regional exchanges. Both Bre-X and YBM started life in Alberta, which appears to have taken on the "Wild West" reputation that made Vancouver infamous in the 1980s. Since YBM already had an Alberta listing and a nicely rising share price, it had no problems moving up to Toronto and eventually joining its prestigious TSE 300 blue-chip index - even though the UK police had investigated the company as early as 1995 and its auditors had forced it to restate its 1996 accounts. Regulators should also make investors fully aware of the links between companies and stockbrokers. First Marathon, a Toronto stockbroker which heavily promoted YBM, owns shares in the group and one of its vice presidents sits on YBM's board. Perhaps the best way to increase investor protection would be to create a national securities regulator to replace the current provincial system. Canada is the only large industrialised country without one. More of the Lex column at FT.com: TELECOMS: Cable & Web KIRCH/BERTELSMANN: European Commission veto BUMPER BONUSES: US executives pay For more on this story and other stock market news and analysis, visit the Investigative Research & Analysis web-site at imagen.net P.S. I hope, for the sake of all, that we have not heard the last word on this thread from Jacob Bogatin. Answers would be welcome.