The case relates to one of the biggest privatisation projects in recent Australian history, the sale of a 50.4 per cent stake in a 99-year lease of Ausgrid to the industry fund consortium for $16 billion. ASIC alleges that on the day the NSW government agreed to the sale Westpac was already aware that it would be appointed by the industry super groups to arrange $12 billion of interest rate swaps to underpin the deal. ASIC alleges that in receipt of that insider information Westpac made 876 trades between 8.30am and 10.27am on the morning the deal was signed to allegedly illegally profit at the expense of its own clients before the deal was publicly announced. "Whilst in possession of the alleged inside information, Westpac's traders acquired and disposed of interest rate derivative products in order to pre-position Westpac in anticipation of the execution of the swap transaction," the regulator claims.