On May 12, 2016, Mr. Martyn Dodgson and Mr. Andrew Hind were sentenced to imprisonment after having been found guilty of insider trading offences earlier this month by a UK court. Mr. Martyn Dodgson and Mr. Andrew Hind were found guilty of conspiring to commit insider dealing between November 2006 and March 2010 following a three-month trial in a case brought by the FCA. During the relevant period, Mr. Dodgson was employed by Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank. Mr. Hind was a businessman, property developer and a qualified Chartered Accountant. Mr. Dodgson utilized his employment to secure information, both on transactions he personally worked on and through transaction in which his colleagues were involved. Mr. Hind acted as a "middle man" receiving information from Mr. Dodgson then dealing on behalf of Mr. Dodgson and himself. Mr. Dodgson and Mr. Hind used various strategies to conceal their activities, including using unregistered mobile phones, encrypted records and safety deposit boxes. Three other defendants, Andrew Harrison, Ben Anderson and Iraj Parvizi, who were accused of being party to the conspiracy, were acquitted. Sentencing will take place on a future date. The FCA confirmed that confiscation proceedings will also be pursued against the convicted individuals.
The convictions are a result of the FCA's largest insider dealing investigation, dubbed Operation Tabernula, which has also resulted in the conviction of Paul Milsom, Graeme Shelley and Julian Rifat.
Mr. Dodgson and Mr. Hind were sentenced to 4.5 years and 3.5 years imprisonment respectively. Mr. Dodgson's sentence is the longest ever handed down for an insider dealing case brought by the FCA. The trial judge, His Honour Judge Pegden, remarked that Mr. Dodgson's and Mr. Hind's offending was 'persistent, prolonged, deliberate, dishonest behavior'.
The FCA update is available at: http://www.fca.org.uk/news/insider-dealers-sentenced-in-operation-tabernula-trial and the FCA's press release is available at: http://www.fca.org.uk/news/two-convicted-of-insider-dealing-in-operation-tabernula-trial .
You may like to view our client publication which is available at: http://www.shearman.com/~/media/Files/NewsInsights/Publications/2016/05/FCA-Obtains-Two-Criminal-Convictionsin-HighProfile-Insider-Dealing-Trial-FIIE-051116.pdf.
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