Investment banker pleads guilty to insider dealing
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An investment banker, his wife and a family friend have pleaded guilty to insider dealing at Southwark Crown Court.
A senior investment banker and former FSA approved person Christian Littlewood, his wife Angie Littlewood and a family friend Helmy Omar Sa’aid have pleaded guilty to eight counts of insider dealing.
They are alleged to have made approximately £590,000 profit from the trades.
The offences relate to trading in a number of different London Stock Exchange and AIM listed shares between 2000 and 2008. In March 2009, the City of London Police, working with FSA staff, arrested the Littlewoods.
The third defendant, Helmy Omar Sa’aid, was returned to the UK in March 2010 following the execution of a European Arrest Warrant in Mayotte, one of the Comoros Islands.
The full sentencing and confiscation hearing will take place in the week commencing January 31.
This is the sixth successful prosecution for insider dealing brought by the FSA and is part of its ongoing drive to tackle market abuse and promote efficient, orderly and fair markets.
FSA managing director of enforcement and financial crime Margaret Cole (pictured) says: “It seems that the penny is beginning to drop. These guilty pleas show that our strategy of a tough approach to insider dealing and, in particular, demonstrating that we are prepared to fight difficult criminal prosecutions to trial, is paying off.
“Dedicated hard work, bold and innovative use of the tools at our disposal and close seamless co-operation between our markets, enforcement and intelligence functions underpin our successful track record in this complex area.”
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