SC wins insider trading suit against former deputy MD, director

KUALA LUMPUR – The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) had successfully proven an insider trading case against Goh Chin Liong, who is the former deputy managing director of WCT Bhd (WCT) and Leong Ah Chai, director of Ara Holdings Sdn Bhd (Ara Holdings).

In the suit filed in 2015 at the high court, the SC claimed that Goh, 63, and Leong, 62, 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.

The latter then disposed of a total 1,640,000 WCT shares in Ara Holdings’ trading account between January 2 and 5, 2009. Goh was the deputy managing director of WCT at the time.

The material non-public information was in relation to the cancellation of a contract for the proposed construction of the “Nad Al Sheba Dubai Racecourse” in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which was awarded to a joint-venture company set up by WCT and one Arabtec Construction LLC.

Leong was then a director of Ara Holdings, which was one of the 30 largest shareholders in WCT.

Judge Datuk Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim ordered Goh and Leong to each pay to the SC a sum of RM2,542,184.70, which is the equivalent of three times the losses avoided by Ara Holdings through Leong as a result of insider trading.

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. – The Vibes, December 23, 2022