Shareholder Pleads Guilty to Fake Touchstone Takeover Fraud

Christopher Woolcott pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 10 September 2026 to four counts of fraud and forgery after creating a fake takeover bid for Touchstone Exploration Inc (TXP.TO ), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced. Woolcott held shares in Touchstone Exploration and stood to benefit financially from any upward movement in the share price had the fake takeover bid been announced to the market, the regulator stated.

According to the FCA, Woolcott admitted creating a fictitious takeover approach for Touchstone Exploration using multiple false identities and forged documents, in an attempt to lend credibility to the approach. He will be sentenced at a later date.

The Charges and the Cited Statutes

Woolcott pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation, contrary to sections 1 and 2 of the Fraud Act 2006, and to three counts of making a false instrument, contrary to sections 1 and 6 of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, the FCA’s notes to editors state.

Under section 1 of the Fraud Act 2006, a person is guilty of fraud if he is in breach of section 2 (fraud by false representation), section 3 (fraud by failing to disclose information) or section 4 (fraud by abuse of position). Section 2 of the Act provides that a person is in breach if he dishonestly makes a false representation and intends, by making it, to make a gain for himself or another, or to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.

The Act states that a representation is false if it is untrue or misleading and the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading. A representation covers any representation as to fact or law, including a representation as to the state of mind of the person making it or of any other person, and it may be express or implied. Under section 2(5), a representation may also be regarded as made if it, or anything implying it, is submitted in any form to any system or device designed to receive, convey or respond to communications, with or without human intervention.

For penalties, section 1(3) of the Fraud Act 2006 provides that a person guilty of fraud is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to a fine, or to both, and, on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or to both.

Section 1 of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 defines forgery as making a false instrument with the intention that he or another person shall use it to induce somebody to accept it as genuine and, by reason of so accepting it, to do or not to do some act to that person’s or any other person’s prejudice. Section 6 of the 1981 Act provides that a person guilty of an offence under section 1 is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years, and on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both. Section 6 applies the ten-year maximum on indictment to offences under sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5(1) and 5(3) of the Act.

Investigation Timeline and the Target Company

The FCA opened a criminal investigation into the matter in March 2025. Woolcott, of Greenwich, London, was born on 23 April 1982, according to the regulator’s notes to editors.

Touchstone Exploration Inc is listed on AIM and the Toronto Stock Exchange, and the FCA stated that the company is not under investigation in connection with the case. Touchstone Exploration describes itself as the largest independent onshore oil and gas producer in Trinidad, engaged in the exploration, development and production lifecycle of oil and gas resources within onshore Trinidad. The company says its portfolio comprises exploration, development and production assets across southern Trinidad.

Steve Smart, executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “Fake bids, forged documents and false identities have no place in our markets.” He added that investors must be able to trust information that affects share prices, and that the FCA will take action against those who use deception and threaten that trust.

The FCA stated that tackling market abuse and financial crime is a priority under its 5-year strategy.