PETALING JAYA: The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court has sentenced former deputy executive chairman of Malaysian Merchant Marine Bhd (MMM) Datuk R. Ramesh to a five-year jail term and fined him RM9 million for insider trading offences.
This comes after a full trial with 24 witnesses having testified for both the prosecution and the defence.
Ramesh, 55, was found to have disposed of 10.2 million of MMM shares while in possession of material non-public information in relation to the proposed downgrade by the Malaysian Rating Corp Bhd (MARC) on the credit rating of MMM’s Al-Bai Bithaman Ajil Islamic Debt Securities, which was made public by MARC on Feb 4, 2010.
Ramesh was also found to be in possession of material non-public information relating to the classification of MMM as a PN17 company. The disposals of MMM shares were made on Jan 11, 2010, Feb 19, 2010 and Feb 22, 2010.
Insider trading is an offence under section 188(2)(a) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 and carries a punishment of an imprisonment term not exceeding 10 years and a fine of not less than RM1 million.
Judge Azman Ahmad con-victed Ramesh on all charges but had allowed a stay of the jail sentence, pending Ramesh’s appeal.
The judge, however, ordered for the total fine of RM9 million to be paid by end of today, failing which Ramesh is to serve the default jail term of nine years.
