Insider Trading Solicitors

If due to personal connections, the nature of your work or any other reason, you have access to confidential, non-public information that you have then utilised in order to gain an unfair advantage on the stock market, you may be prosecuted for illegal insider dealing.

How Can DBT & Partners Help?

If you have been accused of this particular offence, contact DBT & Partners immediately.

We can put together a solid defence, arguing, for example, that your decision to take the action in question was influenced by the information you had in fact gained legally.

We can also help you to prove that you were never aware that the information you used was, in fact, confidential or nonpublic at the time of the alleged offence.

Our business services team of solicitors have more than twenty years’ worth of experience providing insider dealing legal services – they will know exactly what to do to clear your name.

Implications of Insider Trading

If it can be proven that illegal insider trading has taken place within your company, the organisation may become the subject of an in-depth investigation which is likely to prove disruptive to its day-to-day running.

Depending on the severity of the case and whether it can be proven that other individuals within your company were either permitting, assisting in or turning a blind eye to the transgression in question, the wider organisation could also be penalised for failing to prevent this.

Negative press brought about by a guilty verdict could greatly reduce trust in you or the company you represent. This is why it is vital to make contact with a trusted insider dealing solicitor as soon as you can if you have been accused of this offence.

Insider Trading Sentencing Guidelines

If you or your business are suspected of undertaking any activities linked with illegal insider trading, you may receive a fine or even a prison sentence.

An individual found guilty of insider trading may face a sentence of up to seven years.

You and your company may also face unlimited fines depending on the amount of profit that has been achieved illegally, unless you are successfully defended by experienced criminal solicitors with insider trading specialisms.

Typical Insider Dealing Scenarios

You don’t have to be part of a big firm or a big time trader on the stock exchange to be investigated for insider trading.

For example, a friend discloses nonpublic information to you about a major upcoming change within the organisation for which they work that will undoubtedly raise the value of the company’s shares when it comes to pass. You decide to purchase shares in the company before this comes to pass, then watch them increase in value. If it can be proven that you could not have known this information without it being illegally provided by your friend, you may be prosecuted for insider trading.

Offences Relating to Insider Trading

Insider trading falls under the umbrella of market abuse. According to section 52 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993, you may be found guilty of illegal insider trading if you have been using nonpublic information to deal in securities, influencing other people to deal in a certain way because you have access to nonpublic information, or disclosing nonpublic information to unauthorised individuals who may then go on to trade based on what you have told them.

The information in question does not need to have been purposefully or accidentally leaked; hackers and corporate spies may also commit insider trading by illegally accessing confidential information and using it for their own gain.

Insider Trading: Frequently Asked Questions

What is MAR?

MAR stands for Market Abuse Regulation. It delineates the information that all trading bodies with the EU must disclose, and contains legislation that helps law enforcers to regulate behaviour within all markets – cracking down on market abuse and trading violations such as illegal insider dealing.

What Can I Do To Ensure My Company Does Not Commit Illegal Insider Trading?

To ensure that your company abides by the law fully, you can hire or designate a compliance officer. You should also always ensure that any confidential or non public information is only revealed to those who need to understand it as a direct part of their work, and that all individuals who are party to this information understand its sensitivity and have signed relevant, legally binding non-disclosure agreements.

What is a Compliance Officer?

This term refers to an individual employed to ensure that insider trading policy is legally adhered to by all managing members and employees of an organisation.

What do I Do If I’ve Been Accused of Insider Trading?

First, make contact with a trusted and experienced insider dealing solicitor. After this, collect all information and evidence of correspondence and information you’ve received that may go towards proving your innocence, and provide your legal representatives with these materials.

If you’ve been accused of the misappropriation of confidential information relating to trade, contact the specialist insider trading solicitors at DBT & Partners to begin building a strong defence.