FSA -V- MCQUOID

Michael Bowes QC and Oliver Assersohn were instructed by the FSA in the prosecution of a company lawyer who conspired with his father-in-law in a £50,000 insider share dealing scam.

Christopher McQuoid was jailed for eight months in the Financial Services Authority's first criminal prosecution of the offence. Commentators said that even a relatively short jail sentence was important for the credibility of the FSA's insider dealing crackdown.

McQuoid, the former general counsel of TTP Communications, leaked confidential information to his father-in-law James Melbourne. Mr Melbourne purchased shares in TTP ahead of an upcoming takeover bid by Motorola, the US communications company. He later sold the shares and split the proceeds with Mr McQuoid. The case against Mr McQuoid and Mr Melbourne centred largely on the timing of Mr Melbourne's purchase of more than 153,000 shares in TTP Communications just two days before it was announced that Motorola had tabled a takeover offer, which sent the stock soaring. Mr Melbourne made a profit of £48,919.20 after selling his shares. He later gave a cheque for £24,459.60, exactly half of the profits, from the sale of his shares to his son-in-law.

Mr Melbourne received the same sentence which was suspended for 12 months because of his personal circumstances.

Mr McQuoid's lawyers said he would appeal.

Read more at the following links:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c1840ab4-1d8a-11de-9eb3-00144feabdc0.html
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article5989207.ece
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article5986486.ece
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7968536.stm http://www.legalweek.com/Articles/1197954/Going+inside+the+FSA.html