The high-profile insider trading case in Hong Kong against former Morgan Stanley managing director Du Jun took an unexpected turn today when it emerged that Morgan Stanley compliance officers approved the trades of Du Jun at issue due to confusion as to the name of the security involved. The FT reports that in February 2007, Samantha Ng, a former Morgan Stanley compliance manager, signed off on a request by Du Jun to buy shares in Citic Resources because she confused it with sister company Citic Pacific.
Du Jun had reportedly been a member of two project teams that advised Citic Resources on a bond offering and potential hedging deal. Prosecutors allege that regardless of the approval, “[Citic Resources] was in fact on the watch list and the defendant knew it” because of a certain e-mail they contend he opened and read.
