09 May 2014 14:37:00 | UPDATED: 10 May 2014
Former Natinonal Australia Bank staffer Lukas Kamay was in court in Melbourne on Friday over insider trading, corruption and laundering charges. Photo: Wayne Taylor
Georgia Wilkins
An Australian Bureau of Statistics staffer and a National Australia Bank employee have been arrested on insider trading and corruption charges over allegations they made $7 million by trading on market-sensitive information on the Australian dollar.
The Australian Federal Police said a 24-year-old ABS man, Christopher Russell Hill, allegedly gave his 26-year-old friend at NAB, associate director Lukas Kamay, market-sensitive information before it was released publicly by the ABS.
They allege his friend then took the information to trade on the foreign exchange derivatives market using labour force, retail and trade figures – which had yet to be publicly released – to predict fluctuations in the Australian dollar.
The activity generated about $7 million in...