ASIC bans former securities dealer

T

he corporate regulator has banned a former Sydney-based equities trader after an investigation found manipulation of share prices. 

Anton Kerstens, a former director of North Sydney dealership Ark Equities, has been banned from providing financial services for five years, ASIC has announced.

“ASIC’s investigation found that for a period of almost five months in 2012, Mr Kerstens was involved in numerous dealings through his company, Ark Equities, which had the effect of supporting the price of Cauldron Energy shares at a time their price was falling," the statement said. 

“ASIC found that these dealings created a false and misleading appearance of the price for the shares in Cauldron Energy, and were intended to affect the trading behaviour of others in the market.”