ASIC v. Delta Power & Energy (Vales Point) Pty Ltd (price manipulation, 2025)
Alleged — pending
These are allegations. ASIC has filed an action; nothing in it has been proven, and the respondents have not been found liable. Everything described on this page is what the regulator alleges, not what a court has found. See our editorial policy.
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.
In June 2025 ASIC began Federal Court civil penalty proceedings against Delta Power & Energy (Vales Point) Pty Ltd, alleging it placed orders for New South Wales peak-load electricity futures shortly before the ASX 24 close on 30 occasions between September and October 2022 to affect the daily settlement price, which ASIC alleges is a financial benchmark. ASIC seeks declarations and penalties. The matter is an allegation.
The record
| Agency | ASIC |
|---|---|
| Release number | 25-115MR |
| Date filed | 2025-06-30 |
| Status | filed |
| Asset class | futures |
| Criminal parallel | No |
| Defendants | Delta Power & Energy (Vales Point) Pty Ltd |
| Techniques | Price manipulation , Marking the close |
What was ordered
- Civil penalty
- —
- Disgorgement
- —
- Prejudgment interest
- —
- Total relief
- —
- Alleged gain
- —
What is alleged to have happened
the Australian Securities and Investments Commission announced this matter on June 30, 2025 as release 25-115MR. The respondent named is Delta Power & Energy (Vales Point) Pty Ltd (0 individuals, 1 entity).
ASIC alleges the orders created a false appearance that Delta wished to buy at the lowest realisable price and that the daily settlement prices reflected genuine supply and demand. The conduct described is placing orders just before the close to move the settlement price. This library tags the matter as price manipulation and marking the close.
The conduct is recorded against futures.
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.
This matter is at the allegation stage. Nothing in the regulator's filing has been proven, and the respondents are entitled to the presumption that it has not been. This page will be updated if the matter is resolved, dismissed or withdrawn. Checked on 2026-10-04: ASIC's media release page for this matter shows no judgment, penalty or settlement; it records that the Federal Court allowed ASIC to file an amended statement of claim by consent on 18 August 2026 and lists a case management hearing for 30 October 2026, so the case is still pending.
What technique is this, and how does it work?
This action is tagged with 2 techniques 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.
- Price manipulation — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.
- Marking the close — see how it works, what statute it engages, and every other action tagged the same way.
Timeline
- 2025-06-30 ASIC media release
Primary documents
Everything on this page derives from the documents below. Where our summary and the primary document disagree, the primary document is right.
Related actions
Other actions in the library sharing at least one technique tag with this one.
| Action | Agency | Filed | Technique | Penalty | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASIC v. COFCO International Australia Pty Ltd (marking the close, 2024) | ASIC | 2024-07-24 | Marking The Close , Price Manipulation | — | filed |
| SEC v. Lai Guanglin (Alan) (marking the close, 2018) | SEC | 2018-12-10 | Marking The Close , Price Manipulation | $400k | settled |
| SEC v. Chris Faulkner and others (Breitling Energy, 2016) | SEC | 2016-06-24 | Price Manipulation , Marking The Close | — | settled |
| ASIC v. D J Carmichael Pty Limited (price manipulation, 2015) | ASIC | 2015-09-23 | Price Manipulation , Marking The Close | — | settled |
| AMF France v. X, Z and Y (marking the close, 2008) | AMF (France) | 2008-01-24 | Marking The Close , Price Manipulation | — | judgment |
| AMF France v. X, Y, A, B, C, D and E (marking the close, 2005) | AMF (France) | 2005-09-16 | Marking The Close , Price Manipulation | — | judgment |