On 23 May 2017, following a two-day committal hearing at the Sydney Downing Centre, Local Court Magistrate Greg Grogin did not commit Mr Darren Wayne Thompson for trial on any of the 11 charges of procuring insider trading.

Background

Mr Thompson was formerly employed by Credit Suisse Management Australia, most recently as a vice president in its investment banking department.

ASIC had alleged that on 11 separate occasions between 25 May 2008 and 3 June 2011, Mr Thompson procured a close friend, Mr Michael Hull, to purchase the shares of seven Australian listed companies while in possession of inside information about those companies that Mr Thompson had acquired as a result of his employment.

Mr Hull's profit from those trades (realised and unrealised) amounted to approximately $492,000.

On 3 June 2016 Mr Hull was sentenced to 17 months' imprisonment after pleading guilty to insider trading charges brought by ASIC, and prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (see: 16-179MR).