Australia’s corporate watchdog announced on Tuesday that a former director of Tesla Inc’s Australian subsidiary was sentenced to two years and six months in prison, but will be released immediately on the condition of good behavior.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced the sentence following Kurt Schlosser’s guilty pleas to two insider trading offenses, relating to a supply agreement the EV manufacturer made with Piedmont Lithium Corp in 2020.
ASIC reported that Schlosser acquired 86,478 shares of U.S.-based Piedmont in two separate transactions after learning the terms of a five-year spodumene concentrate supply arrangement.
According to the watchdog, Schlosser sold the shares for a profit of $28,883.53 after the arrangement became public.
The regulator stated that Schlosser corresponded with a friend “in circumstances where it was likely” that the friend would acquire Piedmont shares.
In November of 2016, Schlosser pled guilty in a Sydney court.
Piedmont stated, “We do not comment on the legal proceedings of individuals or other companies,”