Two Oceania Natural defendants ordered to pay over $2m in penalties

The market watchdog accused the pair of breaching the Financial Markets Conduct Act in 2019. (Image: NZME)

Fri, 21 Jul 2023

Two Oceania Natural Limited (ONL) defendants have been handed the highest court penalties ever ordered for market manipulation.The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) announced on Friday that in a July 13 penalty hearing, the judge ordered $2.09 million in penalties to the first and second defendants in the ONL proceeding brought by the authority.Former ONL chief executive Wei Zhong was ordered to pay $1.3m, with his wife, Lei Ding – also the sales and marketing manager – ordered to pay $760,000.“These are the highest penalties...

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