The UK’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) has charged Anjam Ahmad, an ex-hedge fund trader who worked with AKO Capital until last September, with one count of conspiracy to commit insider dealing.
The offence relates to trading in 22 different shares between June and August 2009. Ahmad has been bailed to attend City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 7 May 2010.
The FSA states: “These charges follow the searches and arrest of three men on 28 January 2010. The charges are unconnected with other searches, including the recent searches on Tuesday 23 March 2010.”
AKO Capital LLP is based in London with approximately USD 2.5bn of assets under management. AKO Capital, which was founded in 2005 by Nicolai Tangen, its Chief Investment Officer and CE0, invests primarily in European publicly traded equities.
In a statement posted to its website yesterday, AKO Capital states: “Earlier today the Financial Services Authority issued a press release advising that Mr Anjam Ahmad had been charged with conspiracy to commit insider dealing. Mr Anjam Ahmad had previously worked at AKO Capital as an execution trader and we were shocked when, subsequent to Mr Ahmad’s departure from AKO Capital, we were notified by the FSA that he was a subject of an FSA investigation into his personal dealings.”
“We have, of course, been cooperating fully with the FSA. The charges relate to Mr. Ahmad’s activities in a personal capacity. AKO Capital has not been a subject of the investigation and there has never been any suggestion of any involvement by AKO Capital or any other AKO Capital personnel. Nor has the investigation resulted in any criticism of AKO Capital’s procedures. We have no further comment to make.”
The FSA has stepped up its investigations into insider dealing and is currently prosecuting three other insider dealing criminal cases: Andrew King, Andrew Rimmington and Michael McFall, with a trial date of 19 April 2010; Christian and Angie Littlewood, with a trial date yet to be fixed; and Neil Rollins, with a trial date yet to be fixed.
