Businessman’s acquittal for insider trading overturned

The Court of Appeal ruled that the High Court acquitted former Malaysian Merchant Marine Bhd executive deputy chairman R Ramesh without considering the merits of the case.

PETALING JAYA: The Court of Appeal has overturned the High Court’s decision in 2021 to acquit former Malaysian Merchant Marine Bhd (MMM) executive deputy chairman R Ramesh of a charge of insider trading.

A three-member bench comprising Justices Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera, Ahmad Zaidi Ibrahim and Wong Kian Kheong ruled that the lower court acquitted Ramesh without considering the merits of the case.

It reinstated Ramesh’s conviction and sentence by the sessions court, namely five years in prison and a RM3 million fine.

“The Court of Appeal further directed that the case be remitted to the High Court and be heard on the merits before another High Court judge,” the Securities Commission of Malaysia said in a statement.

It maintained the bail of RM200,000 in one surety and ordered Ramesh to surrender his passport to the court.

Ramesh was charged with disposing of five million MMM shares in January 2010 while possessing inside information on Malaysian Rating Corporation Bhd’s plan to downgrade the firm’s credit rating.

He was also charged with disposing of 5,200,000 MMM shares on two occasions a month later while having inside information involving MMM’s classification as a PN17 company.

He was charged in the Kuala Lumpur sessions court in April 2015 under the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007, before being convicted on all three charges in September 2019 after a full trial.

He was sentenced to five years’ jail and a RM3 million fine for each charge, but the court ordered for his jail sentences to be served concurrently.

In May 2021, the High Court set aside Ramesh’s conviction and sentence on all three charges.

The prosecution decided not to pursue the appeal for the second and third charges.