The insider trading trial of Segantii Capital Management is entering its final stages, with the defense recently concluding its testimony. This phase follows a period of intense scrutiny, including the cross-examination of Segantii founder Simon Sadler, and questions raised about the investigative methods employed by Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission.
Sadler, once dubbed Asia's "block trade king," took the stand earlier in June, becoming the defense's first witness. His testimony spanned several days, where he discussed rising personal and professional stress in 2017, the year the disputed trades in Esprit Holdings Ltd. occurred. He also faced tough questioning from prosecution lawyers regarding his knowledge of a potential block trade central to the case. The prosecution had previously presented its case over a month, including testimony from two former Bank of America Corp. traders who detailed communications between Wall Street banks and hedge funds.
A key point of contention during the trial was the revelation that Hong Kong regulators did not contact the US investment firm behind the Esprit Holdings block sale, a transaction at the heart of the insider trading accusations. Defense lawyers highlighted this omission during their questioning of a Securities and Futures Commission official. Additionally, a prosecution witness, Anshul Trivedi, a former equities sales trader at Bank of America Corp., testified in May that his bank did not have a mandate to work on the Esprit block trade when it engaged in discussions with Segantii. These discussions are now being dissected in a nine-year-old transaction that has significantly impacted Sadler's career and led to criminal charges against him and his firm, which at one point managed over $6 billion in assets.
