The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed both the conviction and sentence appeals of Rene Rivkin for insider trading under s1002G(2) of the Corporations Act 2001. The Court rejected arguments of apprehended bias based on the trial judge's former professional association with counsel, held that the trial judge did not err in declining to direct a verdict of acquittal (addressing the meaning of 'information' and its materiality in insider trading), and found the verdict was not unreasonable. Fresh evidence of an undiagnosed meningioma causing frontal lobe dysfunction was considered but held insufficient to establish unfitness to stand trial, a miscarriage of justice through inappropriate courtroom behaviour, or negation of the mental element of the offence. The Court also affirmed that insider trading is not a 'victimless' crime and that sentencing courts must not be swayed by media-promoted community attitudes in particular cases.
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