City watchdog is losing its battle against insider trading
THE Financial Services Authority (FSA) is losing its fight against insider trading, according to a City survey.
The report by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment will come as a blow to the FSA, which has stepped up its enforcement activity with a spate of arrests and big-money fines.
Around 60 per cent of financial services firms surveyed think the FSA – where Margaret Cole leads its enforcement unit – is losing the battle against City crime. The other 40 per cent say the watchdog is making an impact on insider trading.
One respondent said: “The FSA still has a long way to go and should seek government approval for bigger penalties and zero tolerance.”
Meanwhile, the FSA said in bringing the UK’s largest insider dealing case it looked at 50
cases of possible market abuse before focusing on the trades in 12 UK-listed firms, Southwark Crown Court was told in a preliminary hearing yesterday.
The regulator has brought the case against Ali Mustafa, Truptesh Patel, Mitesh Shah, Neten Shah, Paresh Shah, Bijal Shah and Pardip Saini who are charged with 13 counts of insider dealing.