RIM Executives Fined $77 Million Dollars

The top executives of Research In Motion, the hugely successful Canadian company of Blackberry fame, have been fined $77 million dollars! This story is all over the news, but most are treating it as some minor slap on the wrist because, I guess, it's been labelled as "negligence" and not "fraud". I don't know about you, but if I was one of the 3 people who have to pay the majority of this fine (roughly $20 million dollars each), I doubt that I would consider it as a slap on the wrist, or some bit of minor news!

Here's an excerpt from a CTV article. Be sure and follow the link to read the whole story.

RIM executives slapped with $77 million in fines

TORONTO -- The leading executives who helped create the internationally renowned maker of the BlackBerry smartphone will pay the brunt of about $77 million in fines and restitution to settle allegations they participated in a practice known as stock option backdating.

The settlement Thursday is one of the biggest in the history of the Ontario Securities Commission, and marked a rare occasion where some of the country's most prominent executives appeared before the commission for alleged wrongdoing.

Under the settlement, Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis, co-CEOs of BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion Ltd., as well as former chief financial officer Dennis Kavelman will contribute the bulk of the fines.

Also included are several other executives and directors from one of the most successful companies in the history of Canada.

The allegations surround stock option backdating, a practice that was once commonplace in the technology sector. The provincial stocks regulator said the executives were negligent in overseeing the option backdating, but did not commit fraud.