cappers leaving?, page-17

its not illegal, just against ASX "Rules" (note: not laws) which apply to "Participants" - being the listed companies themselves.

from the ASX's own website:

"It is often assumed by the public that a major activity of the ASX is to act as a corporate policeman and protect minority shareholders from fraud and other criminal activities. There is also a wide-spread belief that the ASX can wield significant regulatory power over companies and their directors. This belief appears to be shared by sections of the media when they call on the ASX to take action in some particular case which is beyond the scope of the ASXs authority.

The ASX does not have the power to enter company officer, inspect records or conduct hearings. Its regulatory powers over listed companies and trusts ("companies") are based on the contractual agreement each company enters into by executing the listing agreement whereby companies agree to bind themselves to comply with the Listing Rules

the authority of the ASX over listed companies is limited to ensuring that they comply with the Listing Rules and to this end the range of actions available to ASX is limited to questioning companies and, where appropriate, taking the enforcement actions discussed later in this paper. The role of ASX does not extend to investigating or prosecuting criminal activities. Those tasks fall to the relevant government authorities"

personally, I take comfort in the fact that someone is attempting to build a bigger stake in a company in which i own shares - its a vote of confidence.. i'm not looking to sell out tomrorow (unless the market as a whole tanks) so i'm happy to let someone with deeper pockets get their stake