Monday, February 22, 2010

RSM RIchter - Norshield Bankruptcy Trustee - Reports sealed from public

It is very surprising to search the findings of the trustee investigating Norshield as there are regular reports available. At least, there should be. In fact, thirteen reports were supposedly written. However, seven of the thirteen reports noted on the bankruptcy/restructuring trustee (RSM Richter) website are unavailable and all are presumed to be sealed from the public by request to (and then of) the courts. (I say presumed because there is no indication of the whereabouts of many of the reports.) The first example of a sealed report was from May of 2006, almost 4 years ago.
"The court has ordered the fourth report sealed from the public because it contains sensitive confidential information about the company in which the investment was made."
Isn't the precise mandate of the trustee to uncover sensitive confidential information about the company in which the public invested its money? Why are these results hidden? The claim is that the reports are sealed because they contained some information which must remain confidential to preserve the success of the investigation and/or because some key information lies within the report that is critical to a criminal investigation. Since the documents are permanently sealed with no intent of making them public, the information must be criminal. Since the trustees are being paid from the meagre remaining funds of Norshield, the investors' money, these funds will never reach the investors.
Why is investors money being used to obtain information which is sealed from these investors?
Why is the investors' money funding the search for criminal information?
Most importantly, why have no criminal charges been laid after almost five years?

The following is a chronology of the reports of RSM Richter, the appointed trustee for Norshield
  1. July 12, 2005: First Report - a summarized version
  2. November 15, 2005: Second Report 
  3. February 2, 2006: Third Report - administrative issues
  4. May 30, 2006: "The Fourth Report contains certain proprietary and confidential information regarding the company's business and financial affairs..." - Court order this report sealed from the public record.
  5. October 12, 2006: "The Fifth Report ... contains confidential information regarding the Reciever's realization efforts ... [and] remains under a protective order of the Ontario Court."
  6. March 6, 2007: Sixth Report - comprehensive report regarding receivers activities since the Second Report.
  7. ??: Seventh Report - unknown - no information on RSM website
  8. July 17, 2007: Eighth Report
  9.  ??: Ninth Report - unknown - no information on RSM website
  10.  ??: Tenth Report - unknown - no information on RSM website
  11.  ??:  Eleventh Report - unknown - no information on RSM website
  12.  ??: Twelfth Report - unknown - no information on RSM website
  13. December 17, 2009: Thirteenth Report -