Biovail chairman charged with securities violations

Canadian officials have accused Biovail chairman Eugene Melnyk of violating securities laws by failing to disclose that offshore family trusts controlled 12 million shares of the drug developer. Canada's top securities regulator says that Melnyk is required to disclose the trust's control of the shares under insider trading rules. Melnyk, however, denied that conclusion, saying he didn't own the shares after the trusts were created. Biovail wasn't charged with Melnyk and a former board member who acted as the stockbroker in the transaction. The SEC, though, is investigating Biovail's accounting practices.

- read the article on Biovail from The Wall Street Journal (sub. req.)