Huge fine for Eagle who flew too high
By Kirstin Ridley |
May 21, 2010, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SIMON Eagle, former head of a now-defunct British brokerage, has been fined 2.8 million pounds (US$4 million) for market abuse and banned from working in financial services after showing "a breathtaking disregard" for his clients. Handing down its largest fine yet on an individual, the Financial Services Authority said yesterday that Eagle deliberately set out to ramp up the share price of computer parts company Fundamental-E Investments in a complex, prolonged and "abusive" scheme for his own benefit.
Eagle, who ran brokerage SP Bell, devised the scheme involving FEI and Winterflood - the broking arm of merchant bank Close Brothers.
Winterflood Securities has been fined 4 million pounds for its role in the scheme and has lost appeals to date.
Eagle, who has been battling a case that dates back around seven years, played "procedural games" and fought the charges "every step of the way" in one of the FSA's most prolonged investigations to date, the regulator said.
"His conduct breached the LSE's (London Stock Exchange) rules, caused significant disruption to share dealing in FEI shares and damaged confidence in the AIM market," said Margaret Cole, the FSA's head of enforcement.
"This scheme was rotten throughout and at the core was Simon Eagle. He showed a breathtaking disregard for his clients, for his duty as an approved person and chief executive and for the effect of his scheme on markets," Cole said.
The FSA's latest crackdown on market abuse came as the new British coalition government announced plans to roll together parts of the FSA, the Serious Fraud Office and the Office of Fair Trading to create a single agency to tackle serious economic crime.
Eagle, who ran brokerage SP Bell, devised the scheme involving FEI and Winterflood - the broking arm of merchant bank Close Brothers.
Winterflood Securities has been fined 4 million pounds for its role in the scheme and has lost appeals to date.
Eagle, who has been battling a case that dates back around seven years, played "procedural games" and fought the charges "every step of the way" in one of the FSA's most prolonged investigations to date, the regulator said.
"His conduct breached the LSE's (London Stock Exchange) rules, caused significant disruption to share dealing in FEI shares and damaged confidence in the AIM market," said Margaret Cole, the FSA's head of enforcement.
"This scheme was rotten throughout and at the core was Simon Eagle. He showed a breathtaking disregard for his clients, for his duty as an approved person and chief executive and for the effect of his scheme on markets," Cole said.
The FSA's latest crackdown on market abuse came as the new British coalition government announced plans to roll together parts of the FSA, the Serious Fraud Office and the Office of Fair Trading to create a single agency to tackle serious economic crime.
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