China jails three for Hangxiao insider trading
BEIJING, Feb 4 (Reuters) - A Chinese court on Monday sentenced three people to jail terms and fined two of them a total of 80.74 million yuan ($11.2 million) in a high-profile insider trading case, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The Lishui municipal intermediate people's court in eastern Zhejiang province handed down the sentences for insider trading in the shares of Shanghai-listed Zhejiang Hangxiao Steel Structure Co (600477.SS) last year, Xinhua said.
Regulators had earlier punished Hangxiao for improper disclosure of information related to a big overseas contract that caused its share price to surge early last year, making it something of a test case for tighter rules on disclosure.
Chen Yuxing, Hangxiao's former securities director, was given a 30-month term, while shareholder Wang Xiangdong was given 18 months, with a two-year reprieve, for insider dealing, Xinhua said without elaborating.
The two had their total 40.37 million yuan in illicit gains confiscated and each of them was fined that amount, it said.
Luo Gaofeng, Hangxiao's securities representative, was given 18 months for disclosure of insider information, Xinhua added.
The sentences stemmed from information Chen gave Wang about a planned overseas construction project last February, Xinhua said. Luo confirmed news of the contract to Chen, who had already left the firm at the time, and gave him further details, it said.
Xinhua cited Luo and Chen as saying they would not appeal. Wang was undecided on whether to appeal, it said. (Reporting by Jason Subler; Editing by Louise Ireland)
