Oliver Assersohn analyses the first FSA initiated prosecution for insider trading to end in acquittal
Rv (1) McFall (2) Rimmington (3) King [2010] Southwark Crown Court is the first Financial Services Authority (FSA) initiated criminal prosecution for insider trading to end in acquittals for the defendants. The case is of interest to practitioners and traders not only because of the facts but also because some of the arguments raised may be of relevance to other cases both in a criminal and regulatory context.
The allegations
Mr King, who was finance director of Neutec Pharma Plc (a biotechnology company), was accused of disclosing insider information relating to the takeover of Neutec by Novartis to his friend, Mr McFall, who was in turn alleged to have passed that inside information to his friend, Mr Rimmington. The FSA’s case was that Mr Rimmington then traded on the basis of that inside information. Both Mr McFall and Mr Rimmington were leading City lawyers in separate firms. All three defendants consistently denied any wrongdoing.
The trial
The trial started on 19 April 2010. The prosecution case closed
