A former FX Options and futures trader at Deutsche Bank’s Sydney branch, Andrew Donaldson, was today sentenced to 18 months in prison by the Sydney District Court for fabricating trade entries within the bank’s internal documents and systems, Australian regulator ASIC stated earlier today.
Donaldson, who now resides in New Zealand, pleaded guilty to the solitary charge of exploiting his position in a dishonest manner with the objective of accruing personal benefits either directly or indirectly.
However, Mr Donaldson’s sentence was suspended in its entirety of his own volition with the requirement that he exhibits good behavior for 2 years and deposits a security of $10,000 with the court.
Cathie Armour, ASIC
Speaking of the sentence, ASIC Commissioner, Cathie Armour stated that:
Dishonest use of position in the financial services industry, in order to gain a personal advantage, threatens the integrity of our financial markets. ASIC will continue to take regulatory action to address this type of misconduct.
Mr Donaldson committed the offenses between 25 July 2013 and 25 June 2014 when he made 85 fake entries within Deutsche Bank’s internal documents while he was working as an options, FX and futures trader as the bank’s Sydney branch.
Through the fake entries, Mr Donaldson lied to his employer that he had made profits exceeding $31 million AUD from trading various financial products such as US Treasury Note Futures.
According to the facts quoted in the sentencing, Mr Donaldson benefited by masking his actual losses with the fake profit figures, which could have allowed him to accomplish his annual revenue targets, earn higher incentives and improve his standing at the bank.
ASX listed Byte Power Group Limited has also paid a fine of $33,000 today, after the Australian regulator ASIC issued the company with an infringement notice citing its failure to abide by its official continuous disclosure contract.