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OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ has set a December date to hear an appeal from a British Columbia couple who argue their declaration of bankruptcy should wipe out millions of dollars in fines imposed by provincial securities authorities.

The case of Thalbinder Singh Poonian and Shailu Poonian has been scheduled for Dec. 6 after sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½'s highest court granted leave to appeal earlier this year.

Court documents show the Poonians were ordered by the sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Securities Commission to pay back several million in profits they made and collective administrative penalties of $13.5 million for committing market manipulation.

The Poonians appealed the fine in court, arguing that the debt should be erased when they are discharged from bankruptcy.

Last year, the sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and agreed with the securities commission that the penalty was a sanction for the couple's fraudulent activity and won't disappear when bankruptcy ends.

The securities commission had found share prices of a stock traded on the TSX Venture Exchange had been manipulated, and the Poonians were assessed administrative penalties and ordered to repay the amount earned from the scheme.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 24, 2023.

The Canadian Press

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version incorrectly described fines against the Poonians as having been ordered by a court. In fact, they were ordered by the sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ Securities Commission.