A Sydney court was told that then-Royal Bank of Canada associate John Kay Jin Khoo communicated inside information on the Peabody-MacArthur deal to Active Capital Management director Jia Yao Mathew Tan before an announcement to the market was made.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission said Tan made about $A40,000 off the inside information.

Tan also gained information from Khoo on the 2010 takeover of coke company Caledon Resources by China’s Guangdong Rising Assets Management.

While in possession of inside information from Khoo, Tan acquired 10,000 contracts for difference in Macarthur on July 8, 2011, three days before the announcement of the deal on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Khoo and Tan pleaded guilty in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court and have been committed for sentencing January 18, 2013.