News Release

Vancouver -- The B.C. Securities Commission has imposed a three-year market ban and a $6,000 administrative penalty on the former president of a B.C.-based company for his failure to file insider reports over a 32-month period.

Malcolm Stevenson was the president of Diversified Investment Strategies Inc., a public company whose shares traded on the Alberta Stock Exchange (now the TSX Venture Exchange). Between May 1996 and December 1998, Stevenson failed to file complete and accurate reports for trades that he made in the shares of Diversified.

The commission noted that Stevenson’s trading was significant compared to the general market activity in the shares of the company and that he did not come forward voluntarily to disclose and rectify the situation until a cease trade order was made in January 1999. However, following the cease trade order Stevenson cooperated fully with the commission staff's investigation.

Stevenson resigned as a director and officer of Diversified in January 2000 and has not been a director or officer of any other reporting issuer since. Stevenson has no previous disciplinary history with the commission.

The commission has also ordered that Stevenson be prohibited from acting as a director and officer of a reporting issuer for at least one year.

In rendering its decision, the panel said Stevenson’s conduct fell “considerably below the standard expected of an insider and director of a reporting issuer.”

Stevenson and commission staff are to make further submissions on costs related to the hearing.

The B.C. Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities and exchange contracts within the province. Copies of the decision can be viewed in the documents database of the commission’s website www.bcsc.bc.ca or by contacting Andrew Poon, Media Relations, 604-899-6880.