City of London Blue Bloods Blue in Face

FSA dawn raids shock City

Three prominent financial institutions - Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and Moore Capital - were last night embroiled in the UK's biggest insider dealing case after 16 dawn raids led to the arrests of six people.

The calibre of institutions involved in yesterday's raids has shaken the Square Mile. The FSA said they were its "largest ever operation against insider dealing" and followed an probe launched in 2007. People familiar with the investigation said formal charges were likely within two days.

Britain Raids a Leading Hedge Fund

The London office of one of the world’s largest hedge funds, Moore Capital Management, was raided by British regulators and the police on Tuesday in the latest episode of a crackdown on insider trading.

Moore Capital, which manages about $14 billion, is as close to an establishment hedge fund as there is. Founded by Louis M. Bacon, a billionaire who splits his time between London and New York, the company started as a so-called macro investor that placed big directional bets on markets and has grown to become a large and diverse fund management company.

One man described as a junior trader for Moore Capital was arrested in the raid, and computers and documents were taken from the company’s offices in Mayfair, the exclusive London enclave that is home to many of the city’s largest and best known hedge funds.

They coincide with a surge in prominent insider trading cases brought in the United States, most notably the unraveling of a suspected insider trading ring that revolved around the Galleon Group of hedge funds and involved top executives at I.B.M. and McKinsey & Company, the consulting firm.

Insider Trading Today!: Tuesday’s Raids by the Numbers

Attention insider traders. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Long seen as a porridge gumming regulator, the Financial Services Authority wants a bit more respect.

Guambat is plum-mouthed tickled.

Now if only the SEC could gee itself up to get a bit of respect.
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