RIM Chief Steps Down Amidst Stock Penalty

Reuters today reports that Jim Balsillie, Co-Chief Executive of Canadian smartphone manufacturer Research In Motion will step down from the board. Balsillie will, along with several other executives repay tens of millions of dollars to settle stock option allegations dating back 13 years.

According to Reuters, The Ontario Securities Commission claims the executives backdated and repriced stock options using dates on which the market price of RIM's shares was relatively low. The OSC alleges their actions could have cost the company up to C$66 million

An agreement approved yesterday will see Balsillie pay C$5 million and Co-Chief Executive Mike Lazaridis pay a C$1.5 million penalty. Reuters reports that the two co-CEOs and former CFO, Dennis Kavelman, will also repay C$38.3 million to the company as well as repay roughly C$30 million to cover the costs of a voluntary internal probe. Both Lazaridis and Balsillie must pay investigation costs to the OSC.

"We take this very seriously, the trust of the public markets, and we've made mistakes," Balsillie told reporters after the hearing. "Absolutely, we take full responsibility," he said, adding: "We're 100 percent focused on work and moving forward."

It is said that Balsillie and Lazaridis have already paid C$15 million to offset the costs of the company’s internal review.  As per the agreement, Balsillie may not serve on the board for at least 12 months and Kavelman must pay a C$1.5 million penalty.

The story breaks shortly after news emerged that Apple (which has also faced backdating issues) could face an SEC probe following the allegations that the company purposely mislead the public into believing CEO Steve Jobs was in perfect health. Rumors suggest that Jobs may have known he was unwell but refused to release any information to the public for fear it would damage Apple stocks.

Check out the full story on Reuters.