In Hong Kong today, former Morgan Stanley Managing Director Du Jun was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined HK$23.3 million ($3 million) for insider trading. District Court Judge Andrew Chan stated at the sentencing that “I can’t think of another reason other than being driven by sheer greed for his action.” Chan added that "the defendant was given the opportunity twice to walk away by his supervisor who warned him of his action. His action was a serious breach of trust.”

As previously discussed here, the prosecution against Du is part of a major crackdown on insider trading that has occurred in Hong Kong since 2007. "Insider dealing," as it is known in Hong Kong, carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and fines of up to HK$10 million. Until 2003, the offense was punishable there only by fines. Du's seven year sentence was the maximum sentence possible in the District Court, where he was tried.