Eight held in dawn raids
CITY of London police yesterday arrested eight men suspected of being part of an insider dealing ring in a major investigation by watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
The men, aged 27 to 48, were taken in for questioning after dawn raids, involving 40 FSA staff, in London and the South-east.
The arrests follow several recent FSA investigations into alleged City wrongdoing. It has just concluded a probe into a sharp fall in HBOS share price this year, said to be due to “malicious rumours”.
The FSA has been cracking down. It charged Malcolm Calvert, a former partner in the Queen’s stockbroker Cazenove, with 12 counts of insider dealing last week. Calvert has pleaded not guilty.
Two other men, Matthew and Neel Uberoi, were charged with 17 counts of insider dealing in NeuTec Pharma and Gulf Keystone Petroleum during a four-month period in 2006.
The FSA has been criticised for failing to crack down on law-breakers. It says the introduction of a US-style, plea-bargaining system would help it crack criminal rings.