Former Topshop FD jailed for insider dealing

A FORMER finance director for a leading UK retailer has been convicted of insider trading following the Financial Conduct Authority’s largest and most complex insider dealing investigation in its history.

The FCA alleged that Andrew Hind, the former finance director of Topshop and adviser to the retailer’s owner Sir Phillip Green instigated acts of insider dealing with Martyn Dodgson, a one-time managing director of Deutsche Bank between 2006 and 2010.

According to the conduct authority, Dodgson and Hind, who were close personal friends, instigated this insider dealing conspiracy and agreed to deal secretly, with Dodgson providing inside information from within the investment banks at which he worked to Hind, who then allegedly passed the information on to two other traders.

The two put in place ‘elaborate strategies designed to prevent the authorities from uncovering their activities’, including using unregistered mobile phones, encoded and encrypted records and safety deposit boxes.

Hind, a chartered accountant, businessman and property developer, was along with Dodgson the subject of Operation Tabernula, which the FCA describes as its ‘largest and most complex insider dealing investigation’.

Following a three-month trial at Southwark Crown Court, the two have been convicted of conspiring to insider deal between November 2006 and March 2010. Sentencing will take place on a date to be fixed, but it is likely they will both face a maximum of seven years in prison.

Mark Steward, director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “This was an extraordinary and complex case of a type not prosecuted in this country before.

“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.”