We promised to say something about the hoax perpetrated on shareholders of Whitehaven Coal last week. A bogus press release by 24-year old Jonathan Moylan claimed that ANZ had pulled a $1.2 billion loan previously agreed with Whitehaven. The press release caused a big dip in Whitehaven's shares.
The law is the law. If you did something like that to boost or crash a share price, you'd be charged by ASIC with some kind of fraud or manipulation. Moylan and his defenders will probably argue that the justness of their cause - the motive - means it's not really a crime. It's a protest. And not only that, it's a protest bringing attention an even higher cause - the environment.
Fair enough. People can think what they'd like about their actions. But the law is the law. It's great that Moylan believes in what he's doing. It's not great he's committing acts of financial vandalism, in essence destroying other people's property. He ought to go to jail.
There, he can write letters like Martin Luther King did in Birmingham. Or he can go to jail like Gandhi or Thoreau or countless others who practice civil disobedience against what they perceive as injustice. The world needs people who are willing to put themselves on the line for what they believe.
But as our friend Ron Manners always says, ideas matter. Ideas have consequences. And so do actions. No one's above the law, or at least no one should be. Find Moylan a cell alongside Bernie Madoff. Make room for John Corzine. Equal justice under the law is the best cause of all.
Dan Denning,
for The Daily Reckoning Australia
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About the Author
Dan Denning is the author of 2005's best-selling The Bull Hunter (John Wiley & Sons). He began his financial publishing career in 1997 and has covered financial markets form Baltimore, Paris, London and, beginning in 2005 Melbourne. He’s the editor of The Daily Reckoning Australia and the Publisher of Port Phillip Publishing.
Comment by Ronnie on 16 January 2013:
The little shit is a thief. Cat of nine tails...with studs!
It is about time white collar crims get 20 year non parole sentences. Hang crook pollies...slowly, over several days.
Don't laugh that's what happens during revolutions, I did 3 years of uni reading about it, the financial mess we are in there is going to be a fair bit of hanging around.
PS
With regard "sleepless in Seattle and u got mail," I watch them for therapy ... so go easy Dan.
Comment by Dan (not that one) on 17 January 2013:
Correction...
He is not a thief. He did not steal anything. He caused an effect and presented a false document. He is, by and large a forger and utterer... fraudster to the layman. But he is not a thief.
I agree with the sentiment of this article. Though, I prefer more useful punishments... confinment with free labour for the local councils always seems about fair.
Comment by Josh Freebairn on 18 January 2013:
I think you will find that global warming is "destroying other peoples property", however, that doesn't seem to attract any punishment and as for "the law is the law" as you state in your article, that is laughable. The "laws" in this country are made to protect the top end of town by a group of people who claim to be democratically elected. Preferential voting based on seats is at best a perverse and abstract concept and at worst a complete fraud.
I do enjoy reading the Daily Reckoning but some of your extreme "conservative" rhetoric is just too much.
Comment by jason on 18 January 2013:
"He can write letters like Martin Luther King did in Birmingham..." More likely, Moylan will be too busy showering fully clothed with his ass to the wall so Tattooed Tyrone and Big Bubba don't force him to bend over to pick up the soap in the D-Block showers.
Comment by Joe on 23 January 2013:
Considering that the 'law is the law' we can only presume that Dan believes ASIC should be going after the Times newspaper group in the UK as well!
After all, false reports over the weekend that Santanda (an already desperately bankrupt bank itself) was intending to buy up the NAB's UK operations.
Seems the 2% lift in NAB shares followed by the clear statement by Santanda that it had expressed no interest and held no interest, demonstrates both bogus statements affected a price movement.
Were I Jonathan Moylan and I eventually was pursued by ASIC I would defend myself by claiming persecution by inconsistent treatment.
On a more curious point, anyone that read the paragraph in his faux press release regarding 'environmental impact' would have instantly known it wasn't legitimate as no bank would issue an opinion such as that.
That traders traded on the headline and not the detail, should be a concern for all fund managers, with appropriate clearing of the decks as punishment for incompetence.
What a woeful news cycle we have now. Reuters to News Int'l and Fairfax websites in seconds via cut and paste with not one consideration given to verifying the veracity of the contents. No wonder no one wants Newspaper stocks these days.
Comment by Andy Murray on 23 January 2013:
Are you really friends with Ron Manners or is that just a turn of phase?
Comment by 2sides on 24 January 2013:
Sure some people made losses, but mining one of the last remaining strands of forest in the region is a great loss as well.
The Idemitsu mine is Japan owned. Why kill endangered koalas and endangered forest to send profits overseas?
Moylan did very little harm compared to what's at stake here. I am all for mining and I am a paid subscriber of several Port Phillip Publications, however I don't believe it is necessary to destroy 5000ha of an 8000ha State Forest full of endangered (and critically endangered) species. Perhaps the real crooks here are Whitehaven and Idemitsu.
Comment by Joe on 24 January 2013:
You have stolen that name Mr Murray, I know for a fact that you are too busy down at Melbourne park to find time to post such questions.