A Vancouver man who withdrew $504,095 from his company’s bank accounts that had apparently been “frozen” by the British Columbia Securities Commission has been sentenced to 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to non-compliance of an order.

A provincial court judge convicted Scott Thomas Low, 75, on Dec. 19 and ordered him to repay the commission.

Low must also complete 60 hours of community service and is subject to 12 months of probation.

In 2016, the commission froze bank accounts associated with Low’s FS Corporate Group, including accounts held by 3i Capital ClearPath Limited Partnership and FS Financial Strategies Services Inc.

But, the commission noted in a statement Friday, “Low also admitted that in 2018, he visited a branch of the bank, met with an employee there and withdrew $504,095 from three business accounts frozen.

“Low provided the bank drafts to a lawyer in British Columbia, who was at the time the defense counsel for FS Corporate Group. The attorney deposited the bank drafts into his trust account, and the proceeds were then used to pay expenses on behalf of FS Corporate Group,” the commission said.

In 2020, a commission hearing panel found that Low, Aik Guan “Frankie” Lim and FS Corporate Group engaged in misconduct. It ordered Low to resign as a director or officer of any issuer or registrant, permanently banned him from the investment market and imposed an administrative penalty of $2 million which Low did not pay. yet paid, the commission said Friday.

When the commission demanded that the bank return money from the frozen accounts, it discovered the funds missing, prompting the BCSC Criminal Investigation Branch to launch an investigation.

The commission said freezing orders, now called preservation orders, prevent a person from transferring property, which could include money, physical property and investments.

Glacier Media asked the commission to explain how precisely these orders work; aren’t the accounts really blocked at the bank? Are the banks not informed of the orders? If the banks are informed, how was Low able to withdraw the money? Are such cases reported to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) and the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI)?

Glacier Media will update this article if the commission responds.

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