Insider trading charges against both the former Project Manager and the former Competent Person of ASX-listed gold explorer (ASIC, 2021)

Judgment entered

✓ Checked against the primary document on October 4, 2026. The library's summary, tags and figures for this record were compared with the regulator's own document by an AI model (Claude) following written instructions, with sampled and disputed records read a second time. No lawyer has reviewed them. A checked record can still contain errors, and checked does not mean endorsed. See how we check records or report a correction.

Report an error in this record (asic-21-111mr-insider-trading-2021) by email

In May 2021 ASIC reported insider trading charges against Alexander McCulloch and Darryl Mapleson over trading in Beacon Minerals shares. Mapleson pleaded guilty and was sentenced on 6 August 2025 to 12 months' imprisonment, released on recognisance, and fined A$60,000. McCulloch pleaded guilty in April 2026 and was sentenced on 25 August 2026 to 12 months, released on recognisance.

The record

What was ordered

Civil penalty

—

Disgorgement

—

Prejudgment interest

—

Total relief

—

Alleged gain

—

Penalty as published

A$60k

A dash means the release did not state a figure we could extract, not that the figure is zero. Penalty and disgorgement are stored separately so aggregates across the library do not double-count the same dollars. This regulator states penalties in AUD. The figure is recorded as published and is not converted, so it does not appear in the USD totals or medians used elsewhere on this site.

What is alleged to have happened

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission announced the charges on May 21, 2021 as release 21-111MR.

ASIC alleged McCulloch encouraged two associates to buy Beacon shares and Mapleson bought 12,792,850 shares between January 19 and 24, 2017, before an announcement that lifted the share price by 33 percent.

The A$810,000 earlier recorded as a penalty is the maximum fine per charge stated in the release, not an amount imposed.

For the regulator's own account of the facts, read the primary document linked above. This page deliberately summarises the structured record rather than reproducing the release.

Outcome. ASIC release 25-162MR says the Supreme Court of Western Australia sentenced Mapleson on 6 August 2025 to 12 months' imprisonment, released on a A$5,000 recognisance with a two-year good-behaviour condition, and fined him A$60,000, for procuring his companies to buy Beacon Minerals shares while holding undisclosed drilling results. ASIC release 26-207MR says McCulloch pleaded guilty on 16 April 2026 to one count of procuring two associates to buy shares, and on 25 August 2026 was sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, released on a A$5,000 recognisance; a second count was discontinued and a planned trial was vacated.

Both men were convicted on guilty pleas. The penalty field records only Mapleson's fine, as the McCulloch release reports no fine; the resolution date is the later of the two sentencings.

What technique is this, and how does it work?

This action is tagged with one technique in our taxonomy. The tagging is ours: regulators charge statutory provisions, not technique names, so the mapping is an editorial judgement described in our editorial policy.

• Insider trading — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.

Timeline

1. 2021-05-21 ASIC media release
2. 2025-08-06 Mapleson sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, released on recognisance, fined A$60,000 (ASIC 25-162MR)
3. 2026-08-25 McCulloch sentenced to 12 months' imprisonment, released on recognisance (ASIC 26-207MR)

Primary documents

Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.

• ASIC media release
• ASIC release 25-162MR (Mapleson sentence)
• ASIC release 26-207MR (McCulloch sentence)

The linked release is published by the issuing regulator under its own terms. Our summary and narrative above are our own writing.

Related actions

Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.

Record added September 10, 2026. submit a correction.