A Sydney man has pleaded guilty to 25 charges of insider trading brought against him by ASIC.
John Hartman has been charged by the corporate regulator with 19 counts of insider trading and a further six counts of communicating inside information, putting him in breach of the Corporations Act.
Specifically, ASIC has alleged Hartman traded contracts for difference between July 2008 and January 2009 while he was in possession of information affecting these trades.
At the time, Hartman was an equities dealer at Orion Asset Management. Through this role he obtained information about an intended trade Orion was about to make on the stock market.
Armed with this information, Hartman established market positions, via the use of contracts for difference, to take advantage of Orion's eventual trade.
As a result, Hartman profited from the change in the underlying stock price.
He appeared in the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney yesterday and pleaded guilty to all 25 charges.
The matter is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
