FMA accuses gold mine boss of market manipulation

The Financial Markets Authority has filed civil High Court proceedings against Matthew Geoffrey Hill, the chief executive NZX-listed New Talisman Gold Mines Limited (NTL), for alleged information-based market manipulation and making false and misleading representations.

The case relates to anonymous posts Hill allegedly made about the company on the Sharetrader website’s online investor forum.

The FMA claims that between February 2013 and July 2020, Hill made dozens of posts on Sharetrader in a thread about New Talisman under two usernames, “bullish” and “Epithermal”.

Hill, who is also a director and shareholder of New Talisman, did not, at any point, disclose his involvement in the company, the FMA asserts in the claim. Hill’s conduct was revealed in July 2020 when Sharetrader publicly identified him as the person behind the usernames.