Ex-Saxby Bridge chief in court
Former Saxby Bridge managing director Jeffrey Braysich along with Perth Businessman Dean Scook have been committed to stand trial on 300 market manipulation charges in the District Court of Western Australia.
The pair, following an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), pleaded ‘not guilty’ in the Perth Magistrates Court this week before being bailed and ordered to appear in the District Court on October 13.
Scook faces 279 charges of creating a false or misleading appearance of active trading between January and February 1998 in Intrepid Mining Corporation NL, which now known as Resource Mining Corporation.
While Braysich has been charged with 21 counts of creating a false or misleading appearance of active trading in Intrepid in February 1998.
ASIC alleges that Scook used multiple accounts through several brokers to orchestrate an appearance of trading in Intrepid, with some of the charges relating to both washed and matched orders.
Washed orders are shares which are bought and sold with no change in beneficial ownership, while matched orders are shares that are brought and sold via a prior arrangement between the two parties.
The charges against Braysich all relate to transactions that did not involve a change in beneficial ownership of shares in Intrepid.
The charges were laid following a referral from the Australian Stock Exchange and an investigation by ASIC.
Braysich had attempted to prevent this week's committal hearing from proceeding on the basis the magistrate had no jurisdiction to hear these charges, as the alleged offences had been committed on various dates in Perth and elsewhere.
However the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Western Australia heard the application and discharged the order on June 11.
Recommended for you
ASIC has released the results of its first adviser exam to be held in 2025, with 241 candidates attempting the test.
Quarterly Wealth Data analysis has uncovered positive improvements in financial adviser numbers compared with losses in the prior corresponding period.
Holding portfolios that are too complex or personalised can be a detractor for acquirers of financial advice firms as they require too much effort to maintain post-acquisition.
As the financial advice profession continues to wait on further DBFO legislation, industry commentators have encouraged advisers to act now in driving practice efficiency.
