MAS issues prohibition order on former CIMB VP for insider trading

SINGAPORE: The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued a five-year prohibition order (PO) against Alan Tay Yeow Kee, a former vice-president of CIMB Bank Bhd.

The order will prohibit him from carrying out any regulated activities and from taking part in the management, acting as a director or becoming a substantial shareholder of any capital market services firm under the Securities and Futures Act (SFA), said MAS in a statement yesterday.

In 2011, MAS said he arranged for another person to purchase, on his behalf, the shares of Qualitas Medical Group Limited and Leeden Limited which were listed on the Singapore Exchange at the time.

Tay did this while in possession of non-public and price sensitive information that both companies had received takeover offers, it said.

He had obtained the inside information on the takeover offers by virtue of his position in CIMB.

The prices of both Qualitas’ and Leeden’s shares rose after the takeover offers were announced by the companies and Tay made a profit of around S$30,000 from the shares purchased with the privileged information.

In May 2017, Tay was convicted on three charges under section 219(2)(b) of the SFA for insider trading.

Three other charges were taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing.

He was fined S$180,000 by the District Court.

The prohibition order against Tay was issued by MAS pursuant to Section 101A of the SFA and took effect from July 30, 2018.

Insider Trading under section 219(2)(b) of the SFA Section 219(2)(b) prohibits a person who is in possession of materially price-sensitive information concerning a corporation (to which he is not connected), which he knows or ought to know is materially price-sensitive and not generally available, from procuring another person to subscribe for, purchase or sell or to enter into an agreement to subscribe for, purchase or sell those securities of that corporation.

MAS noted that Tay was a representative of CIMB from November 2010 to November 2016. — Bernama