A Contemporary Analysis of the Application of Sentencing Factors in Insider Trading Cases

Abstract

Insider trading is a complex issue that involves both corporate and criminal law. Since the introduction of civil penalties, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has only pursued one civil proceeding against insider trading. ASIC prefers criminal proceedings for their deterrent effects. This paper examines various features of Australian convicted insider trading cases from 2004 to the end of 2015 and provides a broad overview of the distribution of these cases. Further, this paper assesses the consistent application of sentencing factors and the determination of criminalities of different kinds of insider trading activities. Finally, this paper proposes renaming current insider trading laws to ‘dealing with privileged information’.