Investigators looking into possible Ottawa role in unusual stock sell-off

[CHIMO]

Canadian securities investigators are probing a recent run on a B.C. gold mining stock and a possibility the sell-off was triggered by a leak of confidential information from inside the federal government, CBC News has learned.

Shares in Taseko Mines Ltd. mysteriously dropped almost 40 per cent in frantic trading on Oct. 14, more than two weeks before Ottawa announced it was blocking the firm's planned development of a controversial B.C. mine.

Federal officials interviewed by CBC News on condition of anonymity said the unexplained crash of Taseko stock caused instant panic in the ministerial offices that were involved in reviewing the proposed mine.

Everyone, they said, had the same fear — a government leak.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/11/24/f-greg-weston-taseko.html
Wednesday, November 24, 2010 | 9:01 PM ET