This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on December 10, 2015.

KUALA LUMPUR: Transocean Holdings Bhd executive director Tan Swee Hock has resigned following insider trading charges against him and two other individuals.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, the integrated freight forwarding and customs clearance company announced that Tan, 62, had resigned from his position voluntarily.

This comes on the heels of insider trading charges filed by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) against Tan, as well as Chan Sze Yeng and Cheng Seng Chow, in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Tuesday.

Tan was charged for acquiring 632,700 Transocean shares between Aug 20 and Nov 6, 2009, while in possession of material non-public information.

The SC alleged that the material non-public information referred to in the charges relates to the proposed takeover offer by Kumpulan Kenderaan Malaysia Bhd of Transocean shares. The takeover offer was announced to Bursa Malaysia on Nov 6, 2009.

Tan, who faces a total of 28 charges, is claiming trial.

According to Transocean’s Annual Report 2014, Tan, a chartered certified accountant, was appointed to his present post on April 29, 2008, and a member of the group’s remuneration committee since Nov 5, 2009.

He is also a director of Kumpulan Kenderaan Malaysia, where he was an accountant from 1980 to 1985, before joining Nadicorp Holdings Sdn Bhd as group chief financial officer in 1985 and holds the position until now.

Transocean said Tan had vast experience, especially in the manufacturing and public transportation industry.

Chan and Cheng, meanwhile, were both charged for abetting Tan in the commission of the offences under Section 370(c) of the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (CMSA).

The offence of insider trading under Section 188(2) of the CMSA is punishable with an imprisonment term not exceeding 10 years and a fine of not less than RM1 million.

So far this year, the SC has filed insider trading charges against numerous people besides Tan, Chan and Cheng.

In January, the regulator charged five individuals from TH Group Bhd including its former group managing director Lei Lin Thai with insider trading offences.

Following the charges preferred against the five, the SC charged two more individuals from TH Group for insider trading.

In April, the SC charged Malaysian Merchant Marine Bhd former executive deputy chairman Datuk Ramesh Rajaratnam with three insider trading charges.

In June, three individuals of WCT Holdings Bhd, namely Chan Soon Huat, Goh Ching Liong and Leong Ah Chai, were charged with insider trading of WCT shares.

In July, the SC charged Ranhill Bhd and Ranhill Power Bhd former director Amran Awaluddin and an individual, Nooralina Mohd Shah, with insider trading offences.

More recently, Melewar Industrial Group Bhd former chief executive officer Datuk Lim Kim Chuan and two other individuals were charged with insider trading in November.

Transocean shares were untraded yesterday. It last closed at 37 sen, bringing it a market capitalisation of RM15.17 million.