Lewis Clifton, a top Falkland Islands politician, and his shipping firm were today fined nearly £150,000 for insider trading by the UK’s Financial Services Authority. The Evening Standard reports that Clifton was fined £59,500 for dealing in the shares of AIM-listed oil explorer Desire Petroleum, where he was a non-executive director and founder.
Falklands shipping firm Byron Holdings, where Clifton is a director and one-third shareholder, was also fined £86,030 after buying shares in Desire on inside information allegedly provided by Clifton. The article notes that “incredibly, however, Clifton and Byron did not make any money from the trades as they did not sell the shares even though they nearly quadrupled in price.
Clifton, a former representative for the Falklands in London and now Speaker of the Legislative Council, resigned today from Desire, the Evening Standard reports.
