Yorkshire
resort raid in financial deals probe

A total of five arrests were made after search warrants were executed in the North Yorkshire seaside town as well as addresses in London, Lincolnshire and Leciestershire.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) confirmed that two men, aged 37 and 62, and three women, aged 39, 51 and 63, were detained in the co-ordinated operation. A spokesman for the FSA declined to comment further on who had been arrested in each of the four raids.

A team of investigators from the FSA travelled from London and joined officers from North Yorkshire Police to execute the warrant at the house in Whitby.

The raids in Leicestershire and in Stamford in Lincolnshire were also at domestic properties, while the warrant executed in the City of London was at a business address.

All five suspects were questioned at local police stations throughout yesterday before they were released on police bail while the investigation continues.

If found guilty of insider dealing, they each face sentences of up to seven years in prison.

Insider dealing was officially classed as an offence under legislation introduced in the late 1980s following the stockbroker boom during that decade.

It was initially dealt with as a civil matter with a ban on working in the financial sector. But there has been a major shift in focus in recent years as the FSA has decided to adopt a far tougher stance through criminal prosecutions since 2007.

The FSA has so far secured 21 convictions in relation to insider dealing, and another six individuals are currently being prosecuted. The investigations have involved painstaking research often spanning several years.

The spokesman for the FSA confirmed yesterday’s arrests are not linked to any other ongoing investigations into insider dealing.

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