In an interesting case from across the pond, a former US partner at the accounting firm KPMG LLP this week agreed to plead guilty to securities fraud for his involvement in an insider trading scheme. The scheme saw him providing confidential information to a man who paid him with cash bribes and luxury items.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Scott London, 50, who oversaw KPMG’s audit practice for the Pacific Southwest, was charged with one count of securities fraud through insider trading. In a plea agreement filed in United States District Court, London agreed to plead guilty to the felony count. It carries a statutory maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.
Court documents reveal that London provided confidential information about KPMG clients to Bryan Shaw, a close friend of his, over a period of several years. Shaw then used this information to make highly profitable securities trades that Shaw has admitted earned him more than $1 million dollars.
“This case illustrates the FBI’s commitment to investigating insider trading and working to ensure integrity in our financial markets,” said Bill L Lewis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “We will continue to work with our partners to identify, investigate and prosecute securities fraud cases in order to maintain that confidence in the marketplace.”
Back in Britain, the Financial Conduct Authority has promised to continue the work of predecessor the Financial Services Authority in prosecuting insider dealing and market manipulation cases.
The FSA had secured at least eleven recent convictions (according to its website) and had a number of criminal trials and investigations pending when it handed over to the FCA.
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This blog post is intended as a news item only – no connection between Lewis Nedas and the parties concerned is intended or implied.