Rodney Forrest re-sentenced for $3m insider trading

The Federal Court has re-sentenced former investment manager Rodney Forrest to five years and three months' imprisonment following his appeal for insider trading and procuring others to trade in more than $3 million of Platinum Asset Management shares.

Forrest's non-parole period of three years remained unchanged, and he will be eligible for parole on 23 January 2029.

Forrest was initially sentenced to six years' imprisonment on 23 January 2026. He appealed his sentence and, following his appeal, Forrest's total effective sentence has been reduced by nine months.

Forrest has also been ordered to pay to the Commonwealth the amount of $309,571.84.

The court allowed the appeal on the grounds the sentencing judge erred in finding that Forrest's false denials when initially interviewed by ASIC affected the assessment of the objective seriousness of his offending, rather than limiting this consideration to remorse and the weight to be given to his plea, ASIC said.

Despite the identified error, the court emphasised Forrest's offending remained serious, involving premeditation, planning, a significant breach of trust and a high degree of sophistication, justifying a substantial custodial sentence.

"These offences are unquestionably serious. It is a significant example of offences of this nature," the court held.

The court also held that general deterrence was a primary sentencing consideration in the matter.

The matter and appeal were prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) (CDPP), following a referral and six-month investigation from ASIC.

In August 2024, Forrest secretly accessed the computer of the chair of Regal Partners without permission and photographed confidential takeover documents.

He then traded and procured others to trade in Platinum shares before leaking details of the takeover to the media, making over $300,000 profit for himself, ASIC said.

In line with its 2025 enforcement priorities, ASIC established a dedicated insider trading team in late September 2024 to swiftly progress insider trading investigations and increase the number of criminal briefs referred to the CDPP.