Following an Australian Securities and Investments Commission investigation a former Credit Suisse Vice President in Australia, has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges of insider trading.
Darren Thompson is accused of using his senior position at the investment bank to procure trades in seven different Australian listed companies through close friend Michael Hull. The charges were brought after an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) investigation.
ASIC alleges that on 11 separate occasions between 25 May 2008 and 3 June 2011, Thompson procured a close friend, Michael William Hull, to purchase the shares of 7 Australian listed companies while in possession of inside information about those companies that he had acquired as a result of his employment. Hull's profits from those trades (realised and unrealised) totalled approximately $492,000.
The charges were brought against Thompson in Sydney's Downing Centre local court. The matter was adjourned and will return on 15th November 2016.
Potential of Hefty Penalties
The maximum penalties associated with the alleged offences, subject to the date(s) on which they were committed, are either five years imprisonment and or a fine of $220,000, or 10 years imprisonment and or a fine of $495,000.
On 3 June 2016, Hull was sentenced to 17 months imprisonment after pleading guilty to insider trading charges brought by ASIC and prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. Hull's insider trading was identified by ASIC’s market surveillance team and referred to ASIC’s markets enforcement team for investigation and enforcement action.
