The company went public in 1994, and the stock rapidly increased and three years later De Zen's own holdings were worth $600 million.
However, in February 2004 the Ontario Securities Commission and RCMP announced that they were investigating the company in connection with land deals in the Caribbean.
This caused problems for Greg Sorbara, a former Royal Group board member, who had become Ontario's finance minister in 2003.
It was alleged that the Royal Group has defrauded shareholders[1] in its relation with a resort owned by the executives on the island of St. Kitts.
De Zen and his brother in law, Fortunato Bordin, had borrowed $114 million from Scotiabank to build the resort.
[2] Scotiabank headquarters were raided by 25 members of the RCMP's Integrated Market Enforcement Team on 1 February 2005 "to collect documentary and other evidence in connection to the ongoing criminal investigation into the financial activities of Royal Group Technologies Ltd. "[3] In November 2004, forensic auditors found what was then regarded as a suspicious land deal in Canada in which De Zen and other executives had bought land and then resold it to the company.
[2] Georgia Gulf Corporation, a large PVC raw-material manufacturer, completed its acquisition of Royal Group on October 3, 2006 for $1.6 billion.
The trial judge found overwhelming evidence supporting the defence that no fraud, no deceit, no dishonesty and no concealment had taken place.