SQM’s Ponce Facing Chile Trading Breach Charges; Shares Fall
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Soc. Quimica & Minera de Chile SA’s controller Julio Ponce and three other executives at the fertilizer producer’s holding companies are being accused by Chile’s securities regulator of buying shares at below market prices and selling them back at inflated prices.
Ponce has 20 days to respond to charges related to trades carried out between the so-called cascade companies through which he controls SQM, the regulator known as SVS said in a statement on its website yesterday. The executives --including Aldo Motta, chief executive of Norte Grande SA, and Ponce adviser Roberto Guzman-- will face sanctions if the breaches are verified, the regulator said. SQM shares slumped today.