Two guys in Australia have been arrested for insider trading, money laundering, corruption and abuse of public office. Australian Federal Police allege the offenses went down between August 2013 and May 2013 to the tune of $7 million AU (about $6.5 million US).
How did they get caught? Funny you should ask. An astute foreign exchange broker noticed one guy making big bets on the Australian dollar ahead of news and took to LinkedIn to put it together:
According to Fairfax media reports, the two met during their time at Monash University in Melbourne. The connection was discovered by foreign exchange broker Owen Kerr, founder and owner of Pepperstone Financial, who told Fairfax he had noticed Kamay was making significant bets on the Australian dollar minutes before the announcement of major economic news. Kerr then looked up Kamay's profile on LinkedIn and realised the ABS connection.
"That was when it suddenly clicked that this guy was only trading ABS data and had a man on the inside," said Kerr.
You should read the entire tale of Kerr's discovery in the Financial Review, as not only is it interesting but it once again draws out very clear instructions on what not to do. Starting with connecting with the guy giving you insider tips.
