In a unanimous decision, The Western Australian Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by former director of Astron Ltd Gavin Brown against a $30,000 fine for four charges of market manipulation.
In a unanimous decision, The Western Australian Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by former director of Astron Ltd Gavin Brown against a $30,000 fine for four charges of market manipulation.
In delivering judgment, Chief Justice Wayne Martin said the sentence was at the bottom of the appropriate sentencing range for the crime.
ASIC alleged that Mr Brown placed orders with Astron, a zirconium chemical distributor, through three brokers in a manner that was likely to create a false or misleading appearance in the market. Two of the brokers were used to predominantly place buy orders, whilst one broker was used exclusively to place sell orders.
The charges against Mr Brown arose from his placement of buy orders on several different days through two different brokers, and the amendment of those orders upwards so they appeared to 'leap frog' over one another.
ASIC alleged this conduct gave the likely appearance to the market of competing, independent bids.
A full announcement from ASIC is pasted below
The Western Australian Supreme Court of Appeal (Chief Justice Martin, Justices Wheeler and Buss) has unanimously dismissed an appeal by Mr Gavin Brown against his sentence on four charges of market manipulation.
The charges were brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), and related to Mr Brown's trading of shares in Astron Limited (Astron) between August and December 2001.
Mr Brown was sentenced in the Perth District Court in March 2005 after being found guilty by a jury of the four charges. The Court imposed a cumulative fine of $10,000 for each count with counts 2 and 3 concurrent, giving a total fine of $30,000. Mr Brown's appeal against the sentence was heard on 24 May 2006.
In delivering judgment, the Chief Justice noted, 'Having regard to the strong public interest in deterring the commission of offences which are destructive of confidence in the commercial systems which are of such profound importance to our community and of the notorious difficulty of detecting and successfully prosecuting such offences, the sentence imposed by the trial Judge was plainly at the very bottom of any appropriate sentencing range'.
The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr Brown was charged in February 2003 following a referral from the Australian Stock Exchange and an investigation by ASIC.
Mr Brown had previously been a director of Astron, which is involved in the distribution and sale of zirconium chemicals and related materials.
ASIC alleged that Mr Brown placed orders through three brokers in a manner that was likely to create a false or misleading appearance in the market for Astron.
Two of the brokers were used to predominantly place buy orders, whilst one broker was used exclusively to place sell orders. The charges against Mr Brown arose from his placement of buy orders on several different days through two different brokers, and the amendment of those orders upwards so they appeared to 'leap frog' over one another.
ASIC alleged this conduct gave the likely appearance to the market of competing, independent bids.
