The UK’s Financial Services Authority brought its fourth criminal prosecution for insider trading in 12 months yesterday. The use of criminal penalties is new for the FSA, which has historically preferred to impose fines.
The Times Online reports that the FSA charged Neil Rollins yesterday with five counts of insider dealing and four counts of money laundering. Rollins is alleged to have sold shares in PM Group, a rubbish collection services company, in August and September 2006 with the benefit of inside information.
Last June, Margaret Cole, head of enforcement for the FSA, said the FSA felt that the threat of civil fines “hadn’t worked as we would have liked. We’re convinced that the threat of a custodial sentence is a much more significant deterrent.”
