Cebu trader’s case vs foreign execs of club gets backing

A Cebu-based businessman has gotten the backing of the government’s securities regulation agency in his fight against the alleged illegal sale of shares in a sports club run mostly by foreigners.

In a nine-page document it filed in February at the justice department, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to deny a motion for reconsideration filed by foreign officers of Nomad Sports Club (NSC) on a case filed by SEC against the foreigners for selling shares in NSC without authority.

The foreigners facing charges include Jonathan Thorp, Thomas Whitwell, Alfonso Cervero, Matthew Freeston, Andrew Yatse, Ian Sinclair, Keith Warne and Faisal Durrani-Khan.

A copy of the SEC comment said DOJ should proceed with the filing of criminal charges against the foreigners as sought by a case filed by

Cebu-based businessman Eduardo Du and Jonathan Beltran, who are members of NSC, a sports club in Parañaque that the foreigners run.

The SEC, in its February comment submitted to the DOJ, said charges should proceed against the foreigners because of sufficiency of evidence that they violated the country’s Securities Regulation Code, which prohibits the sale of shares without authority from the SEC.