THE Securities Commission of Malaysia (SC) has proven that WCT Bhd (WCT) former deputy managing director Goh Chin Liong and Ara Holdings Sdn Bhd (Ara Holdings) director Leong Ah Chai were involved in insider trading.
The suit was filed in 2015 at the High Court.
According to SC, Goh and Leong had breached Sections 188(2) and 188(3) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA) when Goh communicated material non-public information to Leong.
Moreover, the latter then disposed of 1,640,000 WCT shares in total on the trading account of Ara Holdings between Jan 2 and Jan 5, 2009. At the time, Goh served as WCT’s deputy managing director.
The substantial non-public information related to the cancellation of a contract for the projected building of the “Nad Al Sheba Dubai Racecourse” in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which had been given to a joint-venture company formed by WCT and Arabtec Construction LLC.
Simultaneously, Leong served as a director for Ara Holdings at the time, which was one of the top 30 shareholders in WCT.
Furthermore, Goh and Leong were ordered by Judge Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim to pay the SC a total of RM2,542,184.70, which is the equivalent of three times the losses avoided by Ara Holdings as a result of insider trading through Leong.
The High Court also ordered both defendants to each pay a civil penalty of RM300,000 and awarded costs of RM75,000 each to the SC. – Dec 23, 2022
