Wed, Aug 14, 2019 – 3:50 PM

THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued 13-year and 15-year prohibition orders (POs) against three Singaporean men who ran an illegal share trading scheme that netted them more than S$2 million each.

The POs against Simon E Seck Peng, a former representative of UOB Kay Hian, as well as Leong Chee Wai, a former representative of First State Investments (Singapore), are each for a duration of 15 years.

Meanwhile, Toh Chew Leong, also a former representative of First State Investments (Singapore), was slapped with a PO of 13 years.

All three POs took effect from Aug 13, MAS said on Wednesday.

The three individuals are thus prohibited from performing any regulated activity under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA).

They are also banned from taking part in the management, acting as a director or becoming a substantial shareholder of any capital market services firm under the SFA.

MAS said the three men had colluded to misuse confidential information obtained in the course of their work for personal gain, when they were representatives of capital market services licence-holders.

They were engaged in a “front-running” arrangement over a period of 7 years. Front-running refers to a broker using advance information of pending share orders to place buy or sell trades through his personal account with the aim of benefitting once the stock price moves.

Last month, Leong, E and Toh were convicted of insider trading offences and sentenced to 36 months, 30 months and 20 months imprisonment respectively.

It was the first front-running case prosecuted as an insider trading offence, which attracts a heavier punishment, in part due to the involvement of price sensitive information.

The case centred on offences committed between 2007 and 2014 involving some 40 Singapore-listed companies, including Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, CapitaMalls Asia and Global Logistic Properties. Foreign-listed stocks were targeted as well.