CDPP drops insider trading charges against former CFO of Big Un

Following the conclusion of a five-week trial, which ended on 30 March 2026, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) has decided to discontinue proceedings against Andrew Corner, the former chief financial officer of ASX-listed company Big Un Limited, which collapsed back in 2018, according to a statement by ASIC.

ASIC previously made allegations against Corner in a statement issued in June 2023. ASIC said that Corner had allegedly been "in possession of inside information in late 2017, when he procured two private companies to sell 1.7 million Big Un shares for a total value of more than $5 million".

Charges were laid against Andrew Corner in April 2023, but were discontinued by the CDPP after a jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict following the conclusion of the trial.

The CDPP decided not to proceed with a retrial, having regard to the Commonwealth's Prosecution Policy.

Following the CDPP's decision, ASIC said it considers the matter to be finalised.

Big Un's former chief executive officer, Richard Evans, pleaded guilty to one charge of communicating inside information in the Sydney District Court back in April this year.

In a statement in April, ASIC said that Evans communicated inside information about Big Un to a shareholder around 10 January 2017, when he ought reasonably to have known that the shareholder would likely trade Big Un shares and options.

According to the corporate regulator, the inside information concerned the number of customers who had been onboarded to purchase Big Un’s promotional ‘TV Show’ package at a cost of $12,000, together with a $20 million funding arrangement with ‘Finstro’, a product of Sydney-based financier First Class Capital, which allowed customers to make this purchase on deferred payment terms.

A sentencing hearing has been set for Evans for 21 August 2026. The matter is being prosecuted by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) (CDPP) following a referral from ASIC.