Mr Gregory Campbell, of Paradise Waters, Queeensland, has been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, to be released immediately upon his own recognizance in the sum of $10,000, and a fine of $10,000 for one count of insider trading in the shares of Pulse Health Limited (Pulse).
Mr Campbell was also ordered to pay a pecuniary penalty order of $31,996 representing the profits made from his offence.
At the time of the offence, Mr Campbell was the National Development and Construction Manager at Healthe Care Australia Pty Limited (Healthe Care). Mr Campbell was also a member of the company’s executive team.
On or around 19 October 2016, Mr Campbell received information from another member of the executive team about a potential deal with Pulse. He understood this to mean that Healthe Care had reached an in principle agreement to acquire a substantial shareholding in Pulse. Mr Campbell knew this information was not generally available and would have had a material effect on the Pulse share price. With this knowledge, Mr Campbell then purchased 392,257 shares in Pulse for a total value of $127,384.26.
On 20 October 2016, Pulse entered a trading halt and announced that it had received a non-binding, indicative offer from Healthe Care to acquire all of its shares for a cash price of $0.47 per share. When trading re-opened on 21 October 2016, Mr Campbell sold his shares in Pulse, resulting in a profit of $31,996.
ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said ‘As a member of the executive team, Mr Campbell had access to privileged and market sensitive information. Mr Campbell traded while in possession of this inside information which gave him an unfair advantage.
‘ASIC will continue to take action against insider trading wherever it occurs to ensure Australia’s financial markets are fair and promote investor confidence.’
In sentencing, Judge McInerney of the County Court of Victoria stated that but for Mr Campbell’s guilty plea, he would have been sentenced to two years imprisonment with no release upon recognizance.
Mr Campbell had previously pleaded guilty to the insider trading charge (21-110MR).
The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions prosecuted the matter after a brief and referral from ASIC.
