Coal of Africa COO resigns after insider trading fine

Coal of Africa’s chief operating officer Michiel Jakobus Brönn has resigned after being fined by the Financial Services Board of South Africa for insider trading.

The company announced last week that Brönn had been fined for insider trading that occurred in May 2015 after he was instructed by the chief executive officer not to trade shares.

The FSB fined Brönn 350,000 rand for purchasing 117,000 shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange three days before the company announced that it had been awarded mining rights for the Makhado project, which is its most advanced asset.

“Mr Brönn will forfeit all share based incentive awards and shall not be entitled to receive any bonus payments for the year ending June 2017,” the company said on Thursday.

At 1550 GMT, the shares were down 15% to 2.76p.