Pushpay insider case results in six-month community detention

Pushpay's software is used for church donations. Photo / File

The person found guilty of insider conduct in relation to the sale of shares in Pushpay Holdings has been sentenced to six months’ community detention and must pay a fine of $100,000, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) said.

The individual, who has interim name suppression, was found guilty by a jury following a four-week trial at the High Court in Auckland in August.

The New Zealand Herald is contesting the suppression order.

The Crown submitted that the appropriate final sentence for the offender was in the range of 26.5 to 39.5 months’ imprisonment.

The maximum penalty for insider trading is a sentence of five years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of $500,000.

The case, brought by the FMA, centred on the resignation and sell-down of shares of former Pushpay co-founder and director Eliot Crowther in June 2018.

The FMA considered Crowther’s intention in this regard to be material information, which, if generally available, would be likely to have a material effect on the price of Pushpay’s shares at the time.

The FMA alleged that the individual knew of, and used, that information to advise or encourage others to trade in the lead-up to Crowther’s announcement.

Crowther’s trading was legitimate, and he was not party to the proceedings, the FMA said.

Pushpay was not party to any FMA proceeding and cooperated with the authority during its inquiries, the FMA said.

“As the offender has filed a notice of appeal against their conviction and sentence, and the FMA is considering the judgment, we are unable to comment further,” the authority said in a statement.

Pushpay, which specialises in software that allows churchgoers to make donations using their mobile phones, debuted on the NZX main board in June 2015.

The company delisted in May this year after being taken over by Aussie private equity firm BGH Capital and US-based Sixth Street Partners.

Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets and the primary sector. He joined the Herald in 2011.