Jailed executive hits out at ASIC
Stuart Fysh, a former executive vice-president at British Gas, now known as BG Group, last year was convicted of insider trading in the NSW Supreme Court for his purchase of Queensland Gas shares in December 2007.
He was sentenced to two terms of imprisonment, two years and 18 months respectively, in December, to be released after 12 months pending good behaviour.
But in July this year, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal ordered that his conviction be quashed and that he be acquitted and released immediately.
By that time, Mr Fysh had already spent 7 months in jail.
Now, in a submission to a Senate inquiry into the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Mr Fysh has asked for the inquiry to consider how the regulator behaves when it pursues individuals it suspects of crimes.
He says ASIC's practice of "rushing to publicise" its suspicions of individuals, and its intentions to charge individuals, before any crimes have been proved to have taken place can destroy the careers of innocent people needlessly.
"There is a material contrast between ASIC's approach and the manner in which other law enforcement agencies publicise their actions and suspicions prior to laying charges against individuals," Mr Fysh wrote.
"I invite the committee to contrast ASIC's [behaviour] with the tone and tenor of the infrequent public comments made by police during criminal investigations ... never in my experience have I seen a police media release that says anything like 'we think Mr Bloggs did this and we are working to obtain proof of his crime'."
ASIC says it wants to promote confidence in the law and market integrity by informing the public about the standards it expects and the consequences of failing to meet those standards.
"Usually, ASIC does not comment publicly on whether we are looking at a matter until we have started court action. This is because the media will inevitably escalate any hint of an investigation, naming names, drawing inferences and beating up the story - and this can affect any future legal action," said Matthew Abbott, a spokesman for ASIC.
"But not commenting on our work leads routinely to attacks that ASIC is doing nothing and, normally, the opposite is true."
When Mr Fysh was released from prison in July, ASIC informed the market by appending a footnote to an original press release to say he had been released on appeal.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Stuart Fysh, a former executive at British Gas, was accused of insider trading for purchasing Queensland Gas shares in December 2007. Initially convicted and sentenced to prison, his conviction was later quashed on appeal, and he was released after spending seven months in jail.
Stuart Fysh criticized ASIC for its approach to publicizing suspicions and intentions to charge individuals before any crimes are proven. He believes this practice can needlessly destroy the careers of innocent people.
ASIC states that it aims to promote confidence in the law and market integrity by informing the public about expected standards and consequences for failing to meet them. However, they usually refrain from commenting publicly until court action has started to avoid media escalation.
The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal played a crucial role by ordering that Stuart Fysh's conviction be quashed, leading to his immediate release from prison.
According to Stuart Fysh, ASIC tends to publicize suspicions and intentions to charge individuals more readily than other law enforcement agencies, which typically make infrequent public comments during investigations.
Stuart Fysh argues that ASIC's actions, particularly its publicizing of suspicions, can destroy the careers of individuals who are later found to be innocent, as was the case with him.
ASIC acknowledged that not commenting on ongoing investigations often leads to criticism that they are inactive, but they maintain that this approach is necessary to prevent media escalation that could affect future legal actions.
Stuart Fysh requested the Senate inquiry to consider how ASIC behaves when pursuing individuals suspected of crimes, particularly its practice of publicizing suspicions before proving any wrongdoing.
Call 1300 880 160
Start a chat
Schedule a call
