A Melbourne sharetrader is facing 17 counts of insider trading following an ASIC investigation which began from a routine check of chat rooms on the internet by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
ASIC alleges Robert Woodland had inside information before a public announcement was made in December 2003.
The public announcement was about the acquisition of the Cerro Negro gold mine project by mining company Kanowna, now known as Andean Resources.
The corporate regulator alleges that Woodland committed 12 counts of communicating insider information to people when it was not available to the public.
ASIC also alleges that he committed five offences of insider trading when he transacted a number of securities by Andean Resources between November and December 2003.
Woodland has pleaded not guilty to the charges and will appear in the Country Court of Victoria in June 2007.
