Peter Carter KC secures conviction of Goldman Sachs analyst for insider dealing and fraud
On Friday 16th March 2023 at Southwark Crown Court Mohammed Zina was sentenced to a total of twenty-two months imprisonment after being found guilty by a jury on Thursday 15th of six counts of insider dealing and three counts of fraud. Peter Carter KC led for the Financial Conduct Authority who prosecuted the case. His junior was Rachel Barnes KC of Raymond Buildings. This is the highest profile case currently prosecuted by the FCA.
Mohammed Zina worked in the Conflict Resolution Group at Goldman Sachs in the City. He had access to inside information about potential takeovers and mergers of companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and Nasdaq in New York. Between July 2016 and December 2017 Zina made a total of forty-six purchases in six different stocks while in possession of inside information about potential takeovers or mergers of the companies which issued those stocks. He concealed his activities from his employer by using three share dealing accounts in the names of his brother and sister to purchase those shares, contrary to the clear prohibition of such share dealing by Goldman Sachs. He made a profit of over £140,000. He had obtained loans by making fraudulent applications to acquire ready cash, much of which was used to finance the share dealing of which he was convicted. He was arrested in December 2017 following an investigation by the FCA. The trial lasted ten weeks. The guilty verdicts were unanimous. When sentencing him, the Recorder of Westminster HH Judge Baumgartner paid tribute to the generous charitable work he had done, but pointed out that good character was usually a feature of insider dealing cases because that was why the offender had been trusted with confidential price sensitive information in the first place. He stated in his sentencing remarks that the insider dealing offences amounted to a serious breach of trust as well as harming the reputation of the financial institutions involved.
