In Australia, Judge Warren Howell of the the Brisbane District Court sentenced former Queensland Gas Co. CFO Mukesh Panchal to two years in jail for insider trading. He is eligible to be released on parole after 14 months.
As previously discussed here, Panchal pleaded guilty to four criminal charges of inside trading earlier this month, claiming that he was “not thinking clearly” when he bought the shares because he was stressed due to “bullying and harassment from my managing director…. He was undermining my authority as CFO, yelling … making derogatory comments in front of the auditors.” Panchal said after he complained about the bullying, he was demoted to the position of interim company secretary and became worried he would lose his job.
