Former chief financial officer gets jail for insider trading, acquiring benefits from criminal conduct

SINGAPORE: A former chief financial officer was on Friday (Jun 10) sentenced to three months and two weeks' jail for insider trading and acquiring benefits from criminal conduct.

Tan Chee Keong was CFO of Broadway Industrial Group Limited (BIGL) at the time of the offences, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in a media release on Friday. He was CFO of the company from Oct 5, 2015 to Aug 8, 2017.

Between March and August 2016, BIGL was in discussions with Platinum Equity Advisors to sell two of its businesses.

Tan had insider information on the deal and disclosed the information to two friends on numerous occasions, knowing that they would likely purchase BIGL shares, said MAS.

"The two individuals subsequently purchased and sold shares in BIGL and made profits," the authority added.

In October 2016, Tan received S$30,000 in cash from one of these friends, which was his share of the profits from the insider trade.

“Tan has paid S$30,000 to the state, as disgorgement of his share of the profits from the offence,” said MAS.

The investigations against Tan arose after a referral by the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited, and he was investigated by MAS and the police's Commercial Affairs Department.

The court proceedings against the two people who were alleged to have received insider information from Tan are ongoing, said MAS.

Tan pleaded guilty to one charge of communicating non-public and material information about BIGL's shares to one of his friends. He was also convicted of a corruption charge after accepting a sum of money from that friend.

A remaining charge of communicating insider information concerning BIGL shares to another friend was taken into consideration for sentencing.

MAS' assistant managing director of policy, payments and financial crime Loo Siew Yee said: "As the chief financial officer of a listed company, Mr Tan owed a duty to the company and its shareholders not to divulge price-sensitive information that has not been disclosed to the market at large.

"His act of conveying such information to his friends to benefit them and himself undermines public confidence in the transparency and integrity of our capital market.

"MAS will continue to pursue officers of companies who engage in such misconduct, to ensure a level playing field for all market participants."