Bill Ackman won’t be able to trade shares of downtrodden pharmaceutical giant Valeant (VRX)—even if he wanted to.
The Canadian company received an order from its principal regulator, the Autorité des marchés financiers in Canada, for newly appointed director Bill Ackman, CFO Robert Rosiello, and Valeant’s 12 other executives to cease trading of the stock in Canada.
The order also applied to U.S. Stock exchanges, representatives from Valeant stated, adding that the drug company had requested the order.
According to papers from the AMF, the regulatory agency filed the order since Valeant is in breach of regulations: The company delayed filing its 2015 annual report again, which puts it at risk of debt default.
(For more on the Valeant affair read: How Bill Ackman and Valeant’s CEO Helped Fuel a Wall Street Disaster)
The order lasts for 15 days, though the Ontario Securities Commission will extend the temporary order if Valeant does not present the information within the period.
“The persons affected have also undertaken not to trade anywhere, including the US,” stated Sylvain Theberge, a spokesman for AMF in an email to Coins2Day.
On Wednesday, Valeant said the company wanted to delay filing its annual report by several weeks, moving the due date from May 31 to April 29.
“The company is working diligently and intends to make the required filings on or before April 29, 2016,” Valeant representatives said in a statement.
Shares of Valeant have sunk 74% year to date following waves of unfavorable news rocked came to light. Former CEO Mike Pearson returned from sick leave for a brief stint in February, before being ousted after the company’s disastrous fourth quarter earnings report. Activist investor Bill Ackman, who has a 9% stake in the company, then joined the board.
Ackman, whose fund Pershing Square has logged huge losses from its Valeant stake this year, previously stated he had no intention of selling his stake in the company.