The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court opened a hearing Friday to review the largest "rat trading" activity to date in China's mutual fund industry, according to a post by Shenzhen People's Procuratorate on Friday.

"Rat trading" refers to fund managers buying shares via their personal trading accounts ahead of large purchases of the same shares by their fund companies. Using this method, they can illegally profit from a rise in share price following the larger transactions.

Ma Le, a former manager of Shenzhen-based Bosera Asset Management Co, is accused of earning more than 18 million yuan ($2.96 million) through insider trading, said the city's People's Procuratorate on its official Sina Weibo account.

Ma pleaded guilty to all the allegations, but the court did not reach a decision.

During Ma's term as Bosera fund manager between April 2011 and June 2013, he took advantage of undisclosed information and traded up to 76 stocks between three different accounts in his control with a total transaction volume amounting to 1.05 billion yuan, according to the post.

From less than 3 million yuan invested, he gained 18.83 million yuan through illegal trading, Shanghai Securities News reported Saturday, citing the court.

Experts say Ma may face up to 10 years in prison.

Ma became a fugitive abroad after his deeds were uncovered by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. But he surrendered himself to Shenzhen police later.

Experts say Ma's case attracted industry-wide attention as his "rat trading" lasted for the longest period of time, involved the largest number of different stocks and resulted in the biggest trading volume and profit.

Based on China's criminal law, Ma could be sentenced to five to 10 years in jail, and charged with fines, Chen Tao, a member of the Criminal Law Committee of the Beijing Lawyers Association, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Before Ma, there were reportedly only two insider trading cases where fund managers made illegal gains higher than 10 million yuan, both in 2009. The convicts were sentenced to three and four years in prison, according to industry experts.

Ma Le, born in 1982 and a graduate of Tsinghua University, joined Bosera in 2006.