Banker found guilty of insider trading
Martyn Dodgson, 44, who graduated from Lancaster University with a first-class degree in economics, was convicted following a three-month trial at Southwark Crown Court alongside property developer and accountant Andrew Hind, 56.
Three other defendants were acquitted.
The case was brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) following an investigation conducted in partnership with the National Crime Agency.
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Hide AdThe offences were committed between November 2006 and March 2010.
The court heard that, over that period, Dodgson was employed by Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank.
He and Hind, who were close friends, instigated the insider dealing conspiracy.
Dodgson sourced inside information from within the investment banks, either through working on transactions himself or through being able to glean what his colleagues were working on.
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Hide AdHe passed on this inside information to Hind who acted as a middle man.
Hind then effected secret dealing for the benefit of Dodgson and himself.
The defendants put in place elaborate strategies designed to prevent the authorities from uncovering their activities. These included the use of unregistered mobile phones, encoded and encrypted records, safety deposit boxes and the transfer of benefit using cash and payments in kind.
Mark Steward, director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said: “This was an extraordinary and complex case of a type not prosecuted in this country before.
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Hide Ad“The message is loud and clear that the FCA will not tolerate sophisticated predatory criminals abusing our markets.
“This case demonstrates our capability and determination to root out this kind of abuse and ensure our market and the investing public are properly protected.”
He added: “Dodgson was an experienced and well-paid banker, well aware that what he was doing constituted a criminal offence and who conspired with Hind to abuse our market and to profit at the expense of the investing public.”
Sentencing will take place on a date to be fixed.