Pixie waits in the doorway as her father Oliver Curtis boards a jet for his return to Sydney. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen He lost it because insider trading is a breach of trust that affects every Australian's super fund by undermining the integrity of financial markets. Federal Court judge Lucy McCallum tore shreds off him a year ago, saying he knew that what he was doing was "very wrong" but believed he could "avoid getting caught", that he "has not embraced responsibility for his offending" and has "no contrition to any degree whatsoever". The insider trading conspiracy netted $1.4 million and was spent on cars, bikes, holidays and luxury rent, all to "fund a lifestyle of conspicuous extravagance". Sentenced to two years' jail with a minimum of one subject to good behaviour, Curtis is now free - to an extent.

Nick and Angela Curtis leave Bondi after visiting their son, Oliver Curtis, following his release from jail. Credit:Nick Moir In fact, the former high-flying broker is banned for five years from serving as a company director. Section 206B of the Corporations Act deals with the automatic disqualification provisions of convicted felons. Oliver Curtis leaves the Cooma Correctional Centre on Friday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Section 1, subsection b, paragraphs i and ii, and Section 2, subsection b, say it all.

"A person becomes disqualified from managing corporations if the person ... is convicted of an offence that ... is a contravention of this Act and is punishable by imprisonment for a period greater than 12 months; or ... involves dishonesty and is punishable by imprisonment for at least 3 months." Roxy Jacenko and Oliver Curtis are getting married ... again. Credit:Daniel Munoz "The period of disqualification ... starts on the day the person is convicted and lasts for ... if the person serves a term of imprisonment - 5 years after the day on which they are released from prison." In practice, that saw Curtis resign as director of his own company Encounter Investments, in which he is the only shareholder, after his conviction in June last year. (He was replaced by his wife, who mysteriously resigned her position several months ago amid speculation about the state of their marriage.) How Good Weekend covered the rise and fall of Oliver Curtis and John Hartman.

Like those of an errant schoolboy, Curtis' finances are now under the direction of his father, the high-profile businessman Nick Curtis, who made his millions for rare-earth miner Lynas Corporation. So where does that leave the newly freed businessman? In all likelihood, Curtis snr's connections will be Oliver's saviour. And there are no restrictions on his ability to work as a banker. After his partner in crime John Hartman spilled the beans to ASIC and Curtis lost his job with boutique investment bank Transocean, Oliver Curtis went to work for his father's consultancy. He continued to travel the world on business until he was locked up. In recent weeks, his wife has noted he will be heading back to work.

After Hartman was released from jail in 2012, he left Sydney, headed west and, using his connections, began working for one of Australia's richest men, mining magnate Andrew Forrest. For now, Curtis's father appears to be his meal ticket. Curtis snr runs an infrastructure consultancy called BBI. His connections in the clubby Sydney business world run deep. He has co-founded E-Nome, a start-up focusing on access to consumers' medical history via their smart phones. He has also held various positions on boards linked to St Vincent's Hospital. Our justice system says Oliver Curtis has served his time. For now, a family has their son back - a husband and father is home. Loading

While the past year may have been a life-changing experience for Curtis, for ASIC it's business as usual - the fight against insider trading goes on. In the past two months alone, two other brokers have been jailed for corrupting the markets.