A former Hanlong Mining managing director has pleaded guilty to over 100 charges of insider trading after being extradited from Hong Kong to Australia.
Hui Xiao, also known as Steven Xiao and Jiayi Xiao, persuaded his wife and other parties to acquire shares and securities in two Australian companies while he had inside information on Hanlong Mining's takeover bids, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) said in a statement following the court case.
Hanlong Mining is a subsidiary of Sichuan Hanlong, whose founder was sentenced to death in May 2014 by a Chinese court for mafia-like offenses.
Each offense committed by Xiao carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
ASIC on Wednesday said while initially charged with over 100 offenses, following a number of court appearances the charges were rolled up under a structured guilty plea, however Xiao is admitting to all of the offending covered.
It is one of the largest and most serious insider trading cases ever brought by the corporate regulator.
Xiao was given permission to travel to China and return by Nov. 26, 2011 while authorities were investigating, however he failed to so, ASIC said.
On behalf of the Australian government, Xiao was then arrested by Chinese authorities in Hong Kong in January 2014, and subsequently extradited later that September.
