Australian pair jailed for insider trading in what judge calls country's 'worst case'

An Australian foreign exchange trader who used confidential economic data to make dozens of illegal trades was sentenced to seven years and three months in jail on Tuesday, with a judge declaring it the country's worst-ever case of insider trading.

Lukas James Kamay, 26, formerly a foreign exchange associate director at National Australia Bank Ltd, made a total A$8 million ($6.11 million) profit from 45 trades using information illegally supplied by Christopher Russell Hill, 25, between August 2013 and May 2014, Victoria state supreme court judge Elizabeth Hollingworth said.

Hill, a university friend who worked at the Australian Bureau of Statistics, deliberately gave Kamay hand-written data on the country's labor force, building approvals and capital expenditure before it was published, the court ruled. Both pleaded guilty, and Hill was sentenced to three years and three months in jail.

In a written ruling, Justice Hollingworth said Kamay's profit was "by a very considerable margin the largest insider trading profit to come before an Australian court". Prosecutors were "right to describe (Kamay's) conduct as the worst instance of insider trading to have come before the courts in this country", the judge said.

"For both of you, your motivation for committing these offences was personal greed, pure and simple," Justice Hollingworth said, noting Kamay sometimes deliberately made losses on his illegal trades to emulate normal trading patterns.

Kamay, who first suggested the scheme to Hill at a birthday party in May 2013, set up separate trading accounts and made several large trades without Hill's knowledge. Hill made just A$20,000 from the scheme while Kamay took the rest of the profits, Justice Hollingworth said.

The pair were arrested in May 2014, as Kamay was waiting for a deposit check to clear for the A$2.4 million purchase of an apartment he saw featured in popular domestic television renovation program "The Block".

Foreign exchange authorities had become concerned about possible illegal activity in February 2014, prompting the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Australian Federal Police to start an investigation.

Kamay "felt driven to succeed in a highly competitive work environment, and to impress...family and friends", displaying "inflated self-esteem or narcissistic personality traits", the judge said.

He pleaded guilty to insider trading, identity theft and money laundering in relation to his attempted apartment purchase. His earliest potential parole date will come after four years and six months of his sentence.

Hill, who pleaded guilty to insider trading, abuse of public office and identity theft, will be eligible for parole after two years.

Tags

Australia, National Australia Bank Ltd, Australian Bureau of Statistics

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