On May 5, 2016, the FCA issued a final notice fining Mr. Mark Samuel Taylor for insider dealing and banning him from the UK financial services industry. On March 12, 2015, Mr. Taylor bought 5,582 shares in Ashcourt Rowan Plc for £15,012. Mr. Taylor's purchase was based on inside information he received through an email circulated in error by his employer, Towry Limited, where Mr. Taylor was employed as an experienced financial adviser. Mr. Taylor bought the shares using funds from his self-invested pension whilst aware he had acted on insider information. On the same day as Mr. Taylor's purchase, Towry Limited subsequently made a public announcement of its intention to acquire Ashcourt Rowan Plc with a revised offer. The announcement resulted in the share price of Ashcourt Rowan Plc rising by 26%, generating a profit of £3,498 for Mr. Taylor. The FCA considered that Mr. Taylor's conduct demonstrated a lack of honesty and integrity, and on that basis, found him to be in breach of the fit and proper person requirement to engage in any regulated activity in the UK financial services industry. Mr. Taylor's fine was initially £78,819. It was however reduced as a result of evidence that he was experiencing financial hardship and was further discounted given his cooperation in initially admitting to engaging in market abuse and voluntarily agreeing to settle in the early stages of the FCA's investigation.
The final notice is available at: http://www.fca.org.uk/static/documents/final-notices/mark-samuel-taylor.pdf.
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