- between 3 January 2013 and 16 July 2013, carrying out 112 transactions in CFDs relating to Anteo Diagnostics Limited (ADO) shares which had the effect of creating an artificial price for trading in ADO shares on the ASX; and
- between 8 May 2013 and 7 January 2014, carrying out 4 transactions in CFDs relating to ADO and in the shares of ADO, that had the effect of creating a false or misleading appearance of active trading in ADO shares on the ASX.
Background
A CFD is an agreement between an investor and a CFD issuer which allows a trader to speculate on future price movements in a financial product, such as shares. The value of a CFD roughly corresponds to the value of the underlying financial product, in this case, shares on the ASX.
The CFD trading accounts used by Mr Boitcheff operated on a direct market access model, under which the CFD issuer hedged its exposure to a client’s trading position by causing a direct and equivalent position to be taken in the underlying security on the ASX. This hedging mechanism can result in CFD trades having an immediate impact on the underlying shares being traded on the ASX. The CFD issuer’s clients are able to see the CFD positions translate to an actual buy or sell order in the underlying shares on the ASX.
