KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 4): The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) has won its civil suit against Datuk Sreesanthan Eliathamby, 60, for insider trading involving shares of now-privatised Worldwide Holdings Bhd.

In a statement, SC said Judge Azizul Azmi Adnand had found that Sreesanthan had breached Section 89E(2)(a) of the Securities Industry Act 1983 when he acquired 600,000 shares in Worldwide between June 7, 2006 and July 11, 2006 while in possession of material non-public information.

The High Court had found that Sreesanthan, a senior partner in a law firm that had served as legal adviser for the proposed privatisation of Worldwide, was in possession of material non-public information in relation to the exercise by Perdanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor, by way of a member’s scheme of arrangement under Section 176 of the Companies Act 1965.

The privatisation was announced to Bursa Malaysia on Aug 23, 2006.

Sreesanthan was ordered to pay the SC RM1.99 million, which is three times the profits gained as a result of insider trading. He was also ordered to pay the regulator a civil penalty of RM1 million and is barred from being a director of any listed company for 10 years starting from Nov 18, 2020.

The SC was also awarded costs of RM100,000 in relation to the suit.