ECONOMY

Quebec investigates Eurobank stakeholder

Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd said Quebec’s securities regulator is investigating Chief Executive Officer Prem Watsa and President Paul Rivett as part of a probe into possible insider trading.

The Autorite des Marches Financiers is looking into whether there was “illegal insider trading and/or tipping (not involving any personal trading by the individuals) in connection with a Quebec transaction,” the insurer said in a filing.

The Toronto-based company said it was cooperating with authorities and is prohibited by law from disclosing further details.

Watsa, who hails from Hyderabad, India, founded Fairfax in 1985 and favors contrarian bets like investments in the Bank of Ireland and Greek malls.

His company is one of the top shareholders in Torstar Corp, the publisher of the Toronto Star newspaper, Canada’s biggest daily by circulation.

Fairfax’s largest holding, in Greece’s Eurobank Ergasias SA, is valued at about $900 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. [Bloomberg]

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