Ex-Goldman Sachs Analyst Jailed For Insider Dealing

 A former Goldman Sachs analyst was sentenced to 22 months in prison Friday for using inside information to buy shares in listed companies and make more than 140,000 pounds ($175,650).

Mohammed Zina, 35, was employed by Goldman Sachs International, a bank subsidiary in London.

Prosecutors said he had used confidential information to buy shares in six companies between July 2016 and December 2017, including Arm, with knowledge of SoftBank’s impending $32 billion acquisition of the British chip designer.

Ex-Goldman Sachs Analyst Jailed For Insider Dealing

He had pleaded not guilty to six offences of insider dealing and three counts of fraud for allegedly lying to Tesco Bank about the purpose of loans, which prosecutors said were used to buy the shares.

But Zina was convicted of all nine charges Thursday, following a trial in a London court.

Judge Tony Baumgartner told him Friday: “You betrayed the trust of your employer, as well as cheated honest investors in the shares you traded using inside information you saw at work.

“What you did strikes at the very heart of our financial markets and the trust and confidence the public places in them.”

Ex-Goldman Sachs Analyst Jailed For Insider Dealing

Zina’s lawyer declined to comment following the sentencing.

Zina’s brother Suhail Zina, formerly an associate at the law firm Clifford 

Chance had also stood trial but was cleared of all nine charges at the judge’s direction on February 5. Clifford Chance declined to comment.

A Goldman Sachs spokesperson said Thursday: “Mohammed Zina betrayed the trust we placed in him, and his misuse of client information was in direct contradiction of our values. We have zero tolerance for this conduct.”

Steve Smart at the UK Financial Conduct Authority, which brought the prosecution, also said: “This conviction sends a clear message that economic crime is on our radar, and we will take action to uphold the integrity of UK markets.”

Ex-Goldman Sachs Analyst Jailed For Insider Dealing

Prosecutor Peter Carter told jurors at the start of the trial that Mohammed Zina had used “private, confidential, price-sensitive information” to invest on the stock exchange.

He said the internal policies of Goldman Sachs strictly forbid any use of confidential information acquired by the investment bank or its employees.

SOURCE- (cnn)