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A former investment manager has pleaded guilty to insider trading charges involving a Platinum Asset Management (ASX: PTM) takeover bid in one of the first cases brought by the corporate watchdog since it established a new criminal investigation taskforce last year to investigate such matters.
Rodney Forrest, the former investment manager who is based in Greater Sydney, fronted Sydney’s Local Court yesterday charged with trading and procuring others to trade Platinum Asset Management shares while in possession of inside information relating to the takeover offer in 2024.
He was also separately charged with providing unlicensed financial advice.
Forrest pleaded guilty to two counts of insider trading between August and September 2024.
The dates align with Platinum revealing to the market on 17 September 2024 that it had received an unsolicited indicative proposal from fellow Sydney investment group Regal Partners (ASX: RPL).
The share-based deal, which ultimately failed to proceed, valued Platinum Asset Management at $1.10 per share. Shares in Platinum were trading below $1 at the time.
The charges brought by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission allege that Forrest acquired about $2.6 million of Platinum shares while in possession of inside information, and that he procured others to also acquire Platinum shares.
ASIC also alleges that Forrest operated a financial services business without an Australian Financial Services (AFS) licence between 4 January and 8 October 2024.
ASIC says the offence of providing unlicensed financial advice will be taken into account when Forrest is sentenced for the insider trading offences.
The matter has been listed for mention in the Federal Court on 5 September 2025.
ASIC says the case marks the first outcome for its new criminal investigation taskforce formed late last year to boost resources and expertise for investigating insider trading cases.
It is also one of the first matters to be referred to the Federal Court under its expanded criminal jurisdiction, with insider trading said to be one of ASIC's 2025 enforcement priorities.
ASIC says its Market Surveillance team detected Forrest’s insider trading activity via ASIC’s trading surveillance technology, which tracks suspicious trading activity in real time.
The insider trading charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years' imprisonment or a financial penalty totalling $1.485 million or three times the benefit derived – whichever is the greater.
Carrying on a financial services business without an AFS licence is a criminal offence that carries a penalty of up to five years imprisonment for individuals and/or a fine of up to 600 penalty units. For corporations, the fine is up to 6,000 penalty units.
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