FMA files insider trading charges

The charges related to the trading of shares in VMob, which now trades as Plexure. Photo / File

The Financial Markets Authority has filed criminal charges against a person, alleging they carried out insider trading.

The charges relate to someone trading in shares of VMob Group Limited, which now trades as Plexure Group Limited.

VMob/Plexure was not part of the investigation and was not charged with any offence. In a statement today, the FMA said the company had co-operated with the investigation.

The person was charged under the Securities Market Act with insider trading and failing to disclose interests in VMob shares.

Insider trading laws prohibit people who hold material information that is not generally available to the market from trading on that information.

Karen Chang, FMA head of enforcement, said: "The integrity of New Zealand's licensed markets is a key strategic priority for the FMA. The insider trading prohibitions are one of the key mechanisms for ensuring licensed markets remain fair and transparent. The FMA will take enforcement action where it finds evidence of insider conduct."

At the time, VMob/Plexure was listed on the NZX's small-cap Alternative Market, which it joined in 2012 via a backdoor listing. The shares plunged as much as 78 per cent between January 2014 and July 2014, before spiking up 25 per cent in one day after announcing McDonald's Corp would use its mobile voucher platform for its 3,200 restaurants in Japan.