MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

LAN holder, and conservative leader, fined for insider trading

Sebastián Piñera

Chile's securities regulator on Friday fined a leading right-wing politician and former presidential candidate for insider trading of LAN Airlines SA stock

The SVS, Chile's securities regulator, said it fined Sebastian Piñera $680,000, saying he bought airline stock a few days before LAN issued its first-half earnings in 2006. Considered one of Chile's richest men, Piñera was a member of LAN's board when he bought the stock and had advance knowledge of the company's upcoming earnings report, the SVS said. The SVS did not detail the amount of the purchase. Piñera who now owns about 28 percent of LAN, bought 3 million local shares of the company in July 2006, equivalent to about 1 percent of the company's outstanding shares, according to the local stock market. Piñera "knew in detail the financial situation of the company, although it was not publicly known," SVS said. Piñera denied any wrongdoing, saying that the fine was politically motivated because he is "a person with political expectations, with an important political situation." Finance Minister Andres Velasco said the fine was "based on professional and technical considerations." Piñera said he will not appeal because the court process could take five years and he has "different motivations," a reference to his intention to run again for president in 2010. As a candidate on the Alliance for Chile ticket, Piñera lost a January 2006 runoff vote to President Michelle Bachelet. Piñera remains a leading figure in the opposition to the Bachelet government and is widely expected to seek the presidency again in 2010. LAN's U.S.-traded shares slipped 49 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $82.78 in Friday trading.