On 27 April 2021, a 49-year-old man was convicted and sentenced for his involvement for offences under the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 (“SFA”).
Between 5 April and 14 December 2018, the man had entered orders for three securities listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange with the aim of moving the prices of these securities. Such price movements had in turn influenced the prices of certain Contracts for Differences (“CFDs”) that he had traded with City Index Asia Pte Ltd (“City Index”) to move in his favour. This enabled him to close out the CFDs and make profits of more than $24,000. This illegal conduct is commonly known as spoofing. To compound the situation, some of these CFD trades had been conducted by the man in the accounts of three other individuals without authorisation.
Full restitution has been made to City Index for the losses suffered as a result of the man’s trades. The man was sentenced to six weeks’ imprisonment and a fine of $30,000 for 20 counts of employing a scheme to defraud under Section 201(a) punishable under Section 204 of the SFA and one count of unauthorised trading under Section 201(b) punishable under Section 204 of the said Act. 42 similar charges under the SFA were taken into consideration for the purpose of sentencing. The offence for each charge under Section 204 of the SFA carries an imprisonment of up to seven years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
19 May 2021 @ 5:45 PM