Former investment manager Rodney Forrest has been sentenced to 6 years' imprisonment for insider trading and procuring others to trade in more than $3 million of Platinum Asset Management Limited (Platinum) shares (ASX: PTM).
In August 2024, Mr Forrest secretly accessed the computer of the Chairman of Regal Partners Limited (Regal) without permission and photographed confidential takeover documents ('Pitch Deck'). He then traded and procured others to trade in Platinum shares before leaking details of the takeover to the media, making over $300,000 profit for himself.
The Federal Court in Sydney today sentenced Mr Forrest to five years imprisonment for insider trading and two years for procuring others to trade, with one year of the procuring offence to be served cumulatively with the insider trading offence. With a total sentence of six years and a non-parole period of three years, Mr Forrest will be eligible for parole on 22 January 2029.
His Honour Justice Bromwich's sentence also took into account a further offence that Mr Forrest provided unlicensed financial services as an investment funds manager to two entities over a 9-month period.
This marks the first outcome for ASIC's new specialist insider trading team which investigated and finalised the case within 16 months of the offending. The matter was prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) (CDPP).
ASIC's market surveillance team detected Mr Forrest's suspicious trading activity in September 2024. ASIC's insider trading team quickly launched an investigation, which led to a search warrant being executed on Mr Forrest's home in November 2024 and charges being laid in August 2025.
Prior to being charged, Mr Forrest adopted an agreed statement of facts for sentence and agreed to plead guilty at the first mention of the matter in the Downing Centre Local Court. Mr Forrest also agreed to forfeit the total realised profit from his insider trading of $309,571.84. The matter was committed for sentence to the Federal Court.
ASIC Chair Joe Longo said the prosecution of insider trading was an enduring priority for ASIC.
'Mr Forrest's actions were a brazen breach of trust and exploitation, and his imprisonment today reflects the seriousness of his crime.
'While some insider trading cases can take several years, Mr Forrest went from crime to jail time in just over a year, underscoring ASIC's determination to fast-track criminal cases of this type.
'Insider trading is a zero-sum game. When somebody profits from inside information, everyone else loses, including every Australian with a superannuation or investment account.
'ASIC will continue cracking down on insider trading and other misconduct that damages market integrity.
'Australia is recognised globally for the integrity of its financial markets, and ASIC is determined to keep it that way.'
In delivering the sentence, His Honour Justice Robert Bromwich said, 'This was serious and pernicious offending.'
'Mr Forrest ... obtained the Pitch Deck deliberately and dishonestly ... what then followed in relation to the use of that information was plainly premeditated, even if it cannot be known how far in advance.
'Mr Forrest ... made a conscious choice to do something he knew was wrong, dishonest and illegal.
'It was a profound breach of trust to obtain that information, and an even more profound breach of trust to use it for the purpose of illegal share trading.
'The whole point of the insider trading prohibition is ... to maintain the integrity of the market by creating and maintaining a level information playing field,' His Honour said.
Since 2009, 46 people have been criminally convicted of insider trading following ASIC investigations, including senior executives and company chairs. The maximum penalty for the offence of insider trading is imprisonment for 15 years.
