Richard Evans, the former chief executive officer of Big Un Limited, has appeared via his lawyer in the Downing Centre Local Court charged with insider trading.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has alleged that Mr Evans, who is also known as Richard Simon Evertz, communicated inside information about Big Un to a shareholder on or around 10 January 2017.
“The information concerned the number of customers who had already been onboarded to purchase Big Un’s promotional ‘TV Show’ package at a cost of $12,000, together with a $20 million funding arrangement with ‘Finstro’, a product of Sydney-based financier First Class Capital, which allowed customers to make this purchase on deferred payment terms,” the regulator explained.
Big Un ranked as one of the top performing shares listed on the ASX in 2017. The company’s shares were suspended from trading in February 2018 after information about its funding arrangement with First Class Capital was released.
The company was placed in voluntary administration and delisted from the ASX in August 2018 and is now in liquidation.
The matter has been listed for mention at the Downing Centre Local Court on 11 April 2023 and is being prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions following a referral from the ASIC.
The regulator confirmed that its investigation concerning Big Un and its officers and executives is ongoing. It has previously taken action against the auditor of Big Un, Graham Rothesay Swan, who was convicted for failing to conduct an audit in compliance with auditing standards.
