More details revealed on jailed tycoon

BEIJING - The Supreme People's Court (SPC) on Tuesday revealed more details about the insider trading case that saw Chinese home appliance tycoon Huang Guangyu jailed in 2010.

SPC spokesman Sun Jungong told a press conference that Huang, as the major shareholder of Shenzhen-listed Beijing Centergate Technologies (Holding) Co Ltd, instructed accomplices to open dummy trading accounts using more than 79 individuals' IDs and to buy the company's stock before statements of major transactions and corporate restructuring were issued.

In three such insider deals, Huang acquired more than 140 million shares with a value of 1.8 billion yuan ($286 million) and profits of nearly 400 million yuan, according to a press release posted on the SPC website.

Sun cited the case of Huang, former chairman of Chinese electronics retail giant Gome, as an example of insider trading that has "seriously jeopardized the security of the capital market and economic and social order."

Huang was sentenced to 14 years in prison in May 2010 after being convicted of illegal business dealings, insider trading and corporate bribery.

Also known as Wong Kwong-yu, he was once the richest man in China's mainland and the legal representative of both Gome and Beijing Pengrun Real Estate Development Company.

According to the SPC, the number of insider trading cases closed by Chinese courts has increased annually, from one in 2007 to 11 in 2011.

A new statutory interpretation on insider trading, issued by the SPC, will take effect from June 1 in hopes of easing some of the difficulties associated with combating this crime.

Sun warned that insider trading causes very negative impacts, and it involves sophisticated and highly professional criminals with financial, legal and IT backgrounds.

It is very hard to track these crimes and convict the perpetrators. The China Securities Regulatory Commission obtained tip-offs on 426 insider trading cases from 2008 to 2011, but only 153 of them were opened for investigation.

The new statutory interpretation was drafted by the SPC and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on articles related to insider trading in criminal law, securities law and the regulation of futures trading.

It clarifies the definition of an insider, which refers to an individual, not an institution, that is either a senior manager or major shareholder -- one holding more than a 5-percent stake -- of a listed company or its affiliates, an employee of a security firm involved with trade or an official with the security watchdog.

It also defines people who obtain confidential transaction information through illegal means and how investigators should define the act of insider trading.

In addition, the interpretation explains that an insider securities transaction with a value of over 500,000 yuan constitutes a grave crime. A futures transaction with a value of more than 300,000 yuan and a deal yielding profits of more than 150,000 yuan will also be considered grave crimes.