getting fuc..ed for a long time"The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered California's Alexander Blyumkin, the former chairman of TSX Venture Exchange listing Petroteq Energy Inc., to pay $2-million for failing to properly disclose millions of dollars in payments. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.) The SEC claims that Mr. Blyumkin withdrew cash from Petroteq for himself and directed money to his relatives. The company also failed to disclose that a $23.8-million property deal Mr. Blyumkin negotiated was with a related party, the SEC says. The sanction against Mr. Blyumkin, 51, is contained in an administrative order that the SEC handed down on Friday, April 12. The $2-million includes disgorgement of $1.7-million in gains, plus interest. The penalties are in addition to a $450,000 fine and an officer and director ban that the SEC previously imposed. The disgorgement, fine and ban represent a negotiated settlement, in which Mr. Blyumkin has not admitted any wrongdoing. Friday's order arises from transactions that Petroteq entered in 2019, when the company was touting an oil sands project as well as a proprietary heavy oil extraction process. Among these transactions was the company's acquisition on July 26, 2019, of the rights to oil and gas leases in Utah. According to the SEC, Petroteq did not disclose that the vendor was part of a group of companies linked to Mr. Blyumkin through an associate in Switzerland. While Petroteq valued the leases at $23.8-million, the vendor had purchased those same rights two months earlier for a promise to pay $275,000 and to issue an option to acquire 20 million Petroteq shares, the SEC said. On top of that, Petroteq failed to disclose the risks associated with that project, the SEC claimed. Among other things, 40 per cent of the acreage was within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and was subject to requirements of the National Park Service. As for the remainder of the project, the area was subject to a prohibition on mining by the Bureau of Land Management. (The company's stated plan was to process oil sands from those licences.) Other parts of the case arose from money that Petroteq paid out. According to the SEC, Petroteq made payments totalling $3.06-million to entities and people connected to Mr. Blyumkin. Those receiving the money included his sister and the mother of his child, the SEC said. His sister received $35,000 per month for legal services and a $250,000 payment made at Mr. Blyumkin's direction. In making the payments, Petroteq was required to disclose the money as being for related-party transactions, but did not do so, the SEC claimed. The SEC pursued Petroteq for the scheme as well. To settle the matter, the company previously agreed to pay $1-million and to fully correct its disclosure with respect to related party transactions. It also agreed to hire an independent consultant acceptable to the SEC that would review the company's corrections. In agreeing to the sanctions, Petroteq did not admit to any wrongdoing. In addition to its administrative case against Petroteq and Mr. Blyumkin, the SEC filed a civil case against the company's former chief financial officer, Mark Korb. The SEC said that he was reckless or at least negligent in his duties. Among other things, he allowed Mr. Blyumkin to make the undisclosed payments, the SEC claimed. That case remains unresolved. Petroteq no longer trades, the Ontario Securities Commission having suspended the stock on Jan. 5, 2023. The company still has a listing, albeit on the NEX. The stock was last at 1.5 Canadian cents."