COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO

Page: 61
[136] Hryniak maintained that Bruno did not invest with the Tropos Joint Venture but
instead was persuaded by Cranston to invest in a joint venture of Cranston‟s company,
Frontline. Some of the documents appear to bear this out. On March 20, 2002, Bruno
received a certificate of investment from Frontline. Moreover, Hryniak said that he first
spoke to Bruno in the fall of 2002, many months after the investment was made, when, in
a telephone conversation, he explained basis trading.
[137] Peebles told a different story. He claimed to understand Bruno‟s money was
always intended to be invested in the Tropos Joint Venture through Frontline. Again
some evidence on the motion supports Peebles‟ claim. Bruno‟s funds were deposited in a
Cassels Brock U.S. dollar trust account with a Tropos client number. Further, in late
March 2002, Peebles received instructions from Hryniak to invest U.S.$1 million for the
benefit of the Tropos Joint Venture. And Hryniak continued to be actively involved in
decisions relating to this investment and the disbursement of Bruno‟s funds.
[138] Also, although Hryniak denied that he was accepting funds for investment in early
2002, the record shows that during this period he was accepting money from other
investors, including a U.S.$2.5 million investment from an entity called Southern Equity.
(ii)
What happened to Bruno’s investment?
[139] Both sides agree that none of Bruno‟s money ended up in the New Savings Bank;
however, they do not agree on where the funds did end up.