A Hong Kong court yesterday issued an arrest warrant for Michael Tang Yan-tian for failure to appear in court to face charges of insider dealing.
Eastern Court Principal Magistrate Tong Man granted a request by the Securities and Futures Commission to arrest Tang, who faces four summonses for insider dealing, after he failed to show up to enter his plea. He previously had been absent for another scheduled hearing.
The SFC has released little information about Tang other than alleging he illegally traded shares of China Sci-Tech Holdings ahead of an announcement by the company about a possible acquisition of a mainland metal ore firm in May 2007.
Insider dealing is a criminal offence in Hong Kong with a maximum penalty on each count of 10 years in jail and a fine of HK$10 million, which is among the toughest sentences worldwide.
In the biggest Hong Kong case so far, Du Jun, the former managing director of Morgan Stanley Asia, was sentenced to seven years in jail and fined HK$23 million by a District Court in September.
Insider dealing occurs when a person takes advantage of price-sensitive information about a listed company that has not yet been made public to trade or tip others to trade in a bid to take profit or avoid losses.
China Sci-Tech announced on May 28, 2007, that it was in preliminary discussions with certain independent third parties on a proposed acquisition of an indirect interest in a mainland metal ore company.