The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) reported that a Victorian man, Behzad Eghrari, was sentenced in the County Court of Victoria to a total of 15 months’ imprisonment for market manipulation involving trading AUD 7.14 million of ASX-listed securities between brokerage accounts he controlled. The court ordered he be released immediately upon entering a recognisance to be of good behaviour for two years, following guilty pleas to three market manipulation charges. In agreed facts, Mr Eghrari admitted executing 679 trades between four accounts he controlled between 3 August 2022 and 23 January 2024, involving Investigator Resources Limited, Silver Mines Ltd and Lumos Diagnostics Holdings Ltd. The trading accounted for up to 73% of total daily volume in the relevant shares, creating a false or misleading appearance of active trading, and continued despite repeated warnings from Bell Direct; the wash trades were executed via three Commonwealth Securities Limited (CommSec) accounts and one Bell Direct account. The matter was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions after an ASIC investigation, with the charges brought under the Corporations Act 2001.
Australian Securities & Investments Commission 2025-12-12
Australian Securities & Investments Commission reports 15-month sentence for wash trading across three ASX-listed securities
The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) announced Behzad Eghrari's 15-month imprisonment for manipulating AUD 7.14 million in ASX-listed securities, with immediate release on a two-year good behaviour bond. Eghrari executed 679 trades across four accounts, manipulating shares of Investigator Resources Limited, Silver Mines Ltd, and Lumos Diagnostics Holdings Ltd, despite warnings from Bell Direct. The case was prosecuted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions following an ASIC investigation under the Corporations Act 2001.