rod178
Well-Known Member
Insider trading masterminds Lukas Kamay - Christopher Hill jailed (re Pepperstone trades)
http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/insider-trading-masterminds-lukas-kamay-christopher-hill-jailed-after-block-bid-20150317-1m0tzu.html
March 17, 2015 - 3:05PM
Mark Russell
Court Reporter for The Age
Luke Kamay was jailed for seven years and three months with a non-parole period of four years and six months, after pleading guilty to insider trading, money laundering and identity theft charges.
Two men involved in a $7 million insider trading scheme that helped the mastermind buy an apartment from The Block television show to give his crimes a "cloak of respectability" have been jailed.
Former NAB banker Lukas Kamay and former Australian Bureau of Statistics employee Christopher Hill had been involved in the worst case of insider trading to come before the courts in Australia, said Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth.
Justice Hollingworth said Kamay had first floated the insider trading idea, which was enthusiastically embraced by Hill.
Hill had abused his position as a Commonwealth public official by deliberately accessing the ABS database, the judge said, copying by hand highly confidential, embargoed information and then passing it on to Kamay.
ABS staff later needed counselling to try to cope with Hill's gross breach of trust.
"Personal greed, pure and simple," was the motivation for the offence, the judge said.
The pair had almost certainly thrown away promising careers by their actions.
Kamay, 26, of Eaglemont, was jailed for seven years and three months with a non-parole period of four years and six months, after pleading guilty to insider trading, money laundering and identity theft charges between August 2013 and May 2014.
Hill, 25, of Brighton, who had met Kamay at Monash University in 2007 where they both studied for commerce and economics degrees, was jailed for three years and three months with a non-parole period of two years after pleading guilty to insider
trading, identity theft and abuse of public office charges.
The pair had decided to set up the scheme during a meeting at a Fitzroy North pub in 2013 with the aim of making a $200,000 profit in a year to split between them.
Hill agreed to use his position at the ABS headquarters in Canberra to send Kamay employment, trade and retail figures moments before they were released to the market.
Kamay, based at NAB in Melbourne, used the data to make trades on currency markets based on which direction the Australian dollar was expected to go.
The plan went awry when Kamay began making so much money he decided to set up three secret trading accounts without telling Hill and ended up making more than $7.2 million.
Hill pocketed a total of $19,500 in cash. He spent $10,000 and police later seized $9500 they found in his apartment.
Kamay later successfully bid $2,375,000 at auction for the three-bedroom Albert Park loft designed by twins Alisa and Lysandra Fraser on The Block, on April 8, 2014.
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Robert Bromwich, SC, said Kamay did not conceal his identity when buying the apartment because the purchase gave his crimes "a cloak of respectability".
Kamay's $237,500 deposit was later seized and the apartment re-sold.
Kamay and Hill were arrested in May after a four-month joint Australian Federal Police and ASIC investigation following a tip-off from a stockbroker about the link between the pair.
Kamay claimed he was driven and pushed by the culture at the NAB at the time to make money and be successful, which, in the end, consumed him.
Justice Hollingworth said an insider trader used inside information to gain an unfair advantage over other traders in the market, meaning it was a form of cheating or fraud.
"Insider trading is a serious criminal offence because it can undermine the integrity of markets, and diminish public confidence in the commercial world," the judge said.
Justice Hollingworth said a psychological report revealed Hill's girlfriend of two years had broken up with him in April 2013 and he was depressed and drinking heavily when living away from home in Canberra.
"I accept that such matters may have clouded your judgment to some extent. But the fact remains that you willingly agreed to participate in what you knew full well to be unlawful activity and you did so on multiple occasions over an extended period of time."
A psychological report for Kamay revealed he felt driven to succeed in a highly competitive work environment to impress family and friends and had displayed some symptoms of inflated self-esteem or narcissistic personality traits.
The judge said both men had expressed genuine remorse for their crimes and she had no doubt they felt considerable shame and embarrassment.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/insider-trading-masterminds-lukas-kamay-christopher-hill-jailed-after-block-bid-20150317-1m0tzu.html#ixzz3UcrfBynJ
http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/insider-trading-masterminds-lukas-kamay-christopher-hill-jailed-after-block-bid-20150317-1m0tzu.html
March 17, 2015 - 3:05PM
Mark Russell
Court Reporter for The Age
Luke Kamay was jailed for seven years and three months with a non-parole period of four years and six months, after pleading guilty to insider trading, money laundering and identity theft charges.
Two men involved in a $7 million insider trading scheme that helped the mastermind buy an apartment from The Block television show to give his crimes a "cloak of respectability" have been jailed.
Former NAB banker Lukas Kamay and former Australian Bureau of Statistics employee Christopher Hill had been involved in the worst case of insider trading to come before the courts in Australia, said Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth.
Justice Hollingworth said Kamay had first floated the insider trading idea, which was enthusiastically embraced by Hill.
Hill had abused his position as a Commonwealth public official by deliberately accessing the ABS database, the judge said, copying by hand highly confidential, embargoed information and then passing it on to Kamay.
ABS staff later needed counselling to try to cope with Hill's gross breach of trust.
"Personal greed, pure and simple," was the motivation for the offence, the judge said.
The pair had almost certainly thrown away promising careers by their actions.
Kamay, 26, of Eaglemont, was jailed for seven years and three months with a non-parole period of four years and six months, after pleading guilty to insider trading, money laundering and identity theft charges between August 2013 and May 2014.
Hill, 25, of Brighton, who had met Kamay at Monash University in 2007 where they both studied for commerce and economics degrees, was jailed for three years and three months with a non-parole period of two years after pleading guilty to insider
trading, identity theft and abuse of public office charges.
The pair had decided to set up the scheme during a meeting at a Fitzroy North pub in 2013 with the aim of making a $200,000 profit in a year to split between them.
Hill agreed to use his position at the ABS headquarters in Canberra to send Kamay employment, trade and retail figures moments before they were released to the market.
Kamay, based at NAB in Melbourne, used the data to make trades on currency markets based on which direction the Australian dollar was expected to go.
The plan went awry when Kamay began making so much money he decided to set up three secret trading accounts without telling Hill and ended up making more than $7.2 million.
Hill pocketed a total of $19,500 in cash. He spent $10,000 and police later seized $9500 they found in his apartment.
Kamay later successfully bid $2,375,000 at auction for the three-bedroom Albert Park loft designed by twins Alisa and Lysandra Fraser on The Block, on April 8, 2014.
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions Robert Bromwich, SC, said Kamay did not conceal his identity when buying the apartment because the purchase gave his crimes "a cloak of respectability".
Kamay's $237,500 deposit was later seized and the apartment re-sold.
Kamay and Hill were arrested in May after a four-month joint Australian Federal Police and ASIC investigation following a tip-off from a stockbroker about the link between the pair.
Kamay claimed he was driven and pushed by the culture at the NAB at the time to make money and be successful, which, in the end, consumed him.
Justice Hollingworth said an insider trader used inside information to gain an unfair advantage over other traders in the market, meaning it was a form of cheating or fraud.
"Insider trading is a serious criminal offence because it can undermine the integrity of markets, and diminish public confidence in the commercial world," the judge said.
Justice Hollingworth said a psychological report revealed Hill's girlfriend of two years had broken up with him in April 2013 and he was depressed and drinking heavily when living away from home in Canberra.
"I accept that such matters may have clouded your judgment to some extent. But the fact remains that you willingly agreed to participate in what you knew full well to be unlawful activity and you did so on multiple occasions over an extended period of time."
A psychological report for Kamay revealed he felt driven to succeed in a highly competitive work environment to impress family and friends and had displayed some symptoms of inflated self-esteem or narcissistic personality traits.
The judge said both men had expressed genuine remorse for their crimes and she had no doubt they felt considerable shame and embarrassment.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/insider-trading-masterminds-lukas-kamay-christopher-hill-jailed-after-block-bid-20150317-1m0tzu.html#ixzz3UcrfBynJ
