Data from the UK’s Financial Services Authority shows that “abnormal” share-price movements occurred before 29.3 percent of UK takeover announcements last year, up from 28.7 percent in 2007. Bloomberg reports that UK legal experts conclude that the FSA’s recent flurry of insider trading cases, including four criminal cases, has not yet become a real deterrent.
Charles Evans, a regulatory lawyer at Norton Rose LLP in London, stated that “maybe credible deterrence hasn’t had time to take effect, or maybe the recession is biting and more people are tempted to commit insider deals.” Former FSA prosecutor Sara George, now at London-based Allen & Overy LLP, added that despite the crackdown, “currently, the risk of being caught is minimal.”
