Errant remiser fined $73k by MAS
AsiaOne
Tuesday, Aug 28, 2012
SINGAPORE - A civil penalty enforcement action has been taken against a former UOB remisier for intentionally creating a false or misleading appearance with respect to the price of securities.
Mr Teoh Teck Shin was working for UOB Kay Hian when he conducted trades which were intended to affect the share price of City Development Limited, Capitaland Limited and Sembcorp Marine Limited.
The trades took place over three days between February and August 2008 and using his personal trading account, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said.
His actions influenced the Designated Market Makers (DMMs) for the structured warrants over these shares to adjust their buy and sell quotes for the warrants.
As a result, Mr Teoh's earlier orders in the warrants were able to match the DMMs' revised quotes. Through his actions, Mr Teoh had intentionally created a false or misleading appearance with respect to the price of the underlying shares in order to profit from his trades in the warrants.
Mr Teoh made a profit of about $29,000 in total.
He has admitted to civil penalty liability and will pay a civil penalty of $73,000 to MAS without court action.
MAS has also issued an order against Mr Teoh prohibiting him from conducting business in any regulated activity or acting as a representative in respect of any regulated activity for a period of three years.
Within the three years, he is also prohibited from taking part in the management of any holder of a capital market services licence or any person exempt under section 99(1) of the Securities and Futures Act (SFA).
A civil penalty action is not a criminal action and does not attract criminal sanctions. The civil penalty regime, designed to complement criminal sanctions and provide a nuanced approach to combat market misconduct, became operational at the beginning of 2004.
