R300 000 fine in SAs first insider trading conviction
Following SAs first criminal conviction for insider trading yesterday (Wednesday), a businesswoman was sentenced to a R300 000 fine or five years imprisonment.
Business Report says Carol Louise Botha (63), of Pretoria, was sentenced in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court to an additional five years imprisonment suspended on condition that she is not convicted during her period of suspension of an offence that involves dishonesty and carries a penalty of imprisonment without the option of a fine. Botha pleaded guilty under a plea bargain between her legal representatives and the National Director of Public Prosecutions. She made a profit of R947 634 in 1997 by dealing 700 000 shares of Automakers, the holding company of Nissan SA, on the basis of price-sensitive information allegedly obtained from Charles Owen Wiggill, the former MD of Nissan Manufacturing. Full report in Business Report