ASIC secured a guilty finding yesterday against a Victorian man who admitted to using Hot Copper as part of his efforts to manipulate the share prices of 20 different ASX-listed companies.
ASIC accused the man of using fake, prop, or dummy bids through multiple share trading platforms between September 2014 and July 2015. He was found to have used Hot Copper to illegally disseminate information about his wash trades and dummy bids as part of his efforts to pump the price.
ASIC alleged that the man traded shares between multiple accounts to disguise the nature of his transactions.
ASIC is reported to have been monitoring Telegram channels and Twitter groups to check on pump-and-dump schemes as it was “concerned about the sophistication and scale of market manipulation levels”.
The trader, who was subsequently banned from Hot Copper, pleaded guilty to 23 charges of manipulation and 19 charges of illegal dissemination of information relating to manipulation. He faces 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $765,000 for each charge pleaded guilty to. Had the activity occurred after March 2019, he would have been facing increased penalties of 15 years jail.
From the ASIC website today
ASIC has recently observed blatant attempts to pump share prices, using posts on social media to announce a target stock, a designated time to buy and a target price or percentage gain to be reached before dumping the shares. In some cases, posts on social media forums may mislead subscribers by suggesting the activity is legal.
ASIC expects participants to promptly submit suspicious activity reports where they see this type of pump and dump activity. Investors and consumers are also encouraged to report misconduct to ASIC.
Wash trades? Dummy bids? Trading between multiple accounts to disguise transactions? Publically commenting on stocks you’re targeting in an attempt to influence the stocks’ price?
Hmmm….!!!!
https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news...govinda-pleads-guilty-to-market-manipulation/
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