US SEC Charges 2 with Cheniere Insider Trading

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday charged two men with insider trading in natural gas company Cheniere Energy Inc in 2011 and 2012.

 

Nicolas Zanen, 42, a vice president of trading in the company's Cheniere International unit, directed his friend Francis van Steenberge, 43, to trade in Cheniere options after giving him tips about forthcoming announcements by the Houston-based company, the SEC alleged.

 

According to the complaint, the trades resulted in about $800,000 of ill-gotten gains, about $200,000 short of Zanen's "stated goal," by the time SEC staff contacted van Steenberge. Proceeds were to be divided equally, the SEC said.

 

The defendants were college classmates who communicated with each other in French, and Zanen had attended van Steenberge's wedding in Belgium, the SEC said. Zanen now lives in London and van Steenberge in Ireland, according to the complaint.

 

Van Steenberge agreed to settle the SEC case for an unspecified sum, according to a judgment filed in the federal court in New Haven, Connecticut.

 

Zanen's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bob Romano, a lawyer for van Steenberge, declined to comment. Cheniere did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

The billionaire Carl Icahn on Oct. 1 reported having a 12.07 percent stake in Cheniere, and in August won two board seats.

 

The case is SEC v. Steenberge et al, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, No. 15-01469.


(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Christian Plumb)