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by Mike Caswell

Igor Palatnik, one of those charged in New York for a fraud at Canadian Securities Exchange listing Canafarma Hemp Products Corp., denies that he did anything wrong, and says that those behind the scheme remain unscathed. He claims that two former associates of his have managed to avoid prison by "pointing their fingers" at him. They provided prosecutors with the bulk of the information that led to the charges, he contends.

The accusations from Mr. Palatnik come as part of a case that the government has been pursuing against him and another man, Vitaly Fargesen, for misappropriating Canafarma's money. Prosecutors claim that the men, who were Canafarma's founders, misappropriated the money through bogus consulting agreements while lying to investors about the company's prospects. The men took $4-million through the scheme, prosecutors say. (All figures are in U.S. dollars.)

The case has yet to go to trial, and Mr. Palatnik has made it clear that he denies any wrongdoing. He claims that two men, who he names as Frank Barone and Kirill Chumenko, "stole millions from Canafarma and are avoiding prison by pointing their fingers" at him and Mr. Fargesen. The men were only mentioned in the indictment as anonymous co-conspirators, and not named as defendants, he says.

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