The Monetary Authority of Singapore has banned and fined a broker S$100,000 ($72,000) for false and unauthorised trading which inflated a stock's price.

The MAS imposed the civil penalty issued prohibition orders (POs) against Ms Chua Kah Boey who it said had committed false trading by executing a client's instructions to purchase Gaylin Holdings Ltd (GHL) shares for the purpose of creating a misleading appearance with respect to the price of the shares.

She also committed unauthorised trading by executing a third party's trading instructions through two other trading accounts without authorisation from her former employer, the MAS said. 

Chua, a former trading representative employed by UOB Kay Hian Private Limited (UOBKH), has paid MAS a civil penalty of $100,000 without court action for contraventions of sections 197(1A)(b) and 201(b) of the Securities and Futures Act 2001 (SFA).

MAS also issued four-year POs against Ms Chua, prohibiting her from:  

a) performing any regulated activity or from taking part in the management of, acting as a director of, or becoming a substantial shareholder of a holder of any capital markets services firm under the SFA; and 

b) providing any financial advisory service or taking part in the management of, acting as a director of, or becoming a substantial shareholder of any financial advisory firm under the Financial Advisers Act 2001.

The POs took effect on 18 August 2022.

Chua managed the UOBKH trading accounts belonging to Wong Leon Keat1 and three other individuals.  Between 15 February 2016 and 25 October 2016, Chua executed Mr Wong's trading instructions through one of the other individuals' UOBKH trading account, inflating the closing price of GHL shares by between 6.5% and 38.6%.

Chua also executed Wong's trading instructions through the UOBKH trading accounts of two other individuals, without notifying and seeking UOBKH's authorisation of these arrangements. This was likely to deceive UOBKH into believing that the trades executed through these accounts had been instructed by the respective account holders.