NeuTec exec in court over 'insider dealing' - Telegraph

By Rachel Cooper, City Reporter
Published: 5:45AM BST 20 Apr 2010

The case is one of several resulting from a crackdown on market abuse by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

Andrew King, Michael McFall and Andrew Rimmington sat in the dock during the jury selection process at London's Southwark Crown Court yesterday.

The opening arguments of the trial, which is expected to last between four and six weeks, will begin today.

Mr King is charged with disclosing inside information about the proposed takeover of NeuTec Pharma, which he was party to as the company's finance director, to Mr McFall, a lawyer.

Mr McFall is alleged to have, in turn, passed this information on to Mr Rimmington, another lawyer, before the pair – who were both partners in the London offices of American law firms – bought shares in the biotech company.

The FSA alleges that, on the basis of the inside information, Mr McFall and Mr Rimmington bought a total of almost 14,000 shares in NeuTec, which specialises in developing medicines against hard-to-treat hospital-acquired infections.

The three men, who were charged in June last year and released on unconditional bail pending the trial, face up to seven years in jail if found guilty. They deny all charges.

Insider dealing cases are notoriously lengthy and difficult to prove, but the FSA has sought to clamp down on market abuse. The regulator has brought three successful criminal cases to date.

Hector Sants, the outgoing head of the FSA, has warned that people "should be very frightened" of the regulator.

via telegraph.co.uk

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