Plexure distances itself from person charged with insider trading

Plexure Group has distanced itself from the person charged with insider trading.

Plexure Group, the mobile voucher firm formerly called VMob, has distanced itself from a person charged with insider trading in its shares.

The Financial Markets Authority yesterday said it has filed criminal charges under the Securities Markets Act in the Auckland District Court against a person for insider trading failing to disclose interests in VMob shares. The FMA said the person used to work at Plexure, which had cooperated with the investigation and wasn't part of the probe.

Today, Plexure chairman Phil Norman said the company fully supports the FMA's role in ensuring the integrity of the capital markets.

Plexure was disappointed to learn that the person, who no longer works with the company, was allegedly involved, Norman said in a statement.

The charges were under legislation pre-dating the current Financial Markets Conduct Act because the issues took place in July 2014, the FMA said.

At the time, 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.

The shares last traded at 10 cents and have dropped 69 per cent this year.