The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced that former investment analyst Michael Ming Jinn Ho has been sentenced to three years imprisonment.
Ho pleaded guilty on five counts of insider trading and one count of communicating inside information. The insider trading is related to Big Un Limited (Big Un) shares and options from 18 July 2016 to 10 February 2018.
Ho invested around $1.6 million in Big Un securities while in possession of insider information provided by Richard Evertz, CEO of Big UN.
The court ordered Ho to serve his sentence via an intensive correction order.
Throughout the course of the investigation, Ho co-operated with ASIC, participated in voluntary interviews and provided documents. Ho also formally admitted to the offences and the facts regarding them.
In recognition of this co-operation, Ho’s sentence was reduced by half.
ASIC Deputy Chair Daniel Crennan QC commented:
ASIC will take strong action against market misconduct in order to ensure Australia’s financial markets remain robust, fair and efficient.
Crennan added:
Significant discounts may apply where individuals co-operate with ASIC. ASIC will assess the level of co-operation it receives, and where appropriate, provide information about the nature, extent and timeliness of that co-operation to the court.
