Several years after he was arrested and charged with insider trading offences, Cameron Waugh of Cottesloe, Western Australia, has pleaded guilty at the Stirling Gardens Magistrates Court for trading shares while in possession of insider information.
The former corporate adviser admitted to insider trading in relation to the gold exploration and mine development company Genesis Minerals.
Namely, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) alleged that over a seven-day period from 14–21 September 2021, Mr Waugh applied to acquire, and did subsequently acquire, 747,626 shares in Genesis while in possession of inside information.
It is alleged that through his role at Omnia Company, at the time of his share applications, Mr Waugh was aware of a funding proposal that included a multi-million-dollar placement of Genesis shares and a restructure of the Genesis board that would see Raleigh Finlayson and Neville Power join the board.
On 22 September 2021, this information became public when Genesis published an ASX announcement titled, “Raleigh Finlayson to Cornerstone Strategic Funding Package”, which subsequently saw the Genesis share price rise 187 per cent.
Mr Waugh was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in late 2022 after ASIC charged him with offences relating to insider trading and subsequently sought a warrant for his arrest.
He pleaded guilty on 24 January 2024 to one count of applying for shares while in possession of inside information in breach of s1043A of the Corporations Act.
This matter has been transferred to the Supreme Court of Western Australia where Mr Waugh will be sentenced on 26 March 2024.
At the time of the offence, a breach of s1043A of the Corporations Act carried a maximum penalty of 15 years’ imprisonment.
