Just not cricket: a rare case of insider trading has caught the attention of the media in Australia – with the implication of a sporty Credit Suisse manager and his buddy.
Two bankers, one of the them a mid-ranking Credit Suisse (CS) manager in Sidney, liked their sports. At the end of 2010, they regularly met for lunch to run their usual stretch in the city's central park.
Much too sporty for the liking of a court in Australia. The two were running slowly enough to find the time to discuss insider information about the expected development of equity prices, according to a report by the «Financial Review» (behind paywall).
Harsh Sentence
The CS banker was close to the source of key information with his insight into capital market transactions of the companies concerned. He would prompt his fellow jogger to take a punt on titles he knew were worth it.
The two have been caught. They made a profit of $80,000 only before the law caught up with them. The regulator is investigating the former CS banker, his colleague was convicted to 17 months in prison with a further 18 months on probation.
Australia takes a dim view on insider trading, which is reflected by the rather harsh verdict. With his verdict, the judge suggested that insider trading was no logner considered a trivial offense, adding that insider traders should expect to go to jail.
