Tribunal upholds regulator’s decision to find banker Ian Hannam guilty
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been vindicated in finding former JP Morgan banker Ian Hannam guilty of market abuse.
The Upper Tribunal today upheld the decision of the city watchdog, finding that Hannam engaged in two instances of market abuse by disclosing inside information that went beyond the proper course of his employment.
In its Decision Notice, the FCA decided that it was appropriate to impose a financial penalty of £450,000.
The two emails in question were dated the 9 September and 8 October 2008.
The tribunal commented:
Mr Hannam’s actions in sending both the September email and the October email constituted behaviour falling within section 118(3) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 5 2000 (“FSMA”). He was thereby engaged in market abuse.
It also passed comment on the standards of behaviour it expected of professional advisers when handling inside information:
We consider that it could never be in the proper course of a person’s employment for him to disclose inside information to a third party, where he knows that his employer and client would not consent to the public disclosure of that information, unless he knows that the recipient is under a duty of confidentiality and that he knows that the recipient understands that to be the case.
Hannam can now appeal the judgement.