Morrisons’ group treasurer sentenced to 12 months for insider dealing

MORRISONS’ former group treasurer has today been sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment and hit with a confiscation order of £200,000 after pleading guilty to two counts of insider dealing.

Paul Coyle was prosecuted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) after he used two online accounts in the name of his partner to trade Ocado shares at a time when he was privy to confidential price sensitive information about Morrison’s ongoing talks regarding a proposed joint venture with Ocado Group.

Mr Coyle’s profits from the dealings exceeded £79,000, but today the court ordered him to pay £15,000 towards the prosecution costs as well as a confiscation order for £203,234.

In sentencing, the judge, Mr Justice Globe, said “the offending was so serious that an immediate custodial sentence must be imposed”.

Georgina Philippou, FCA’s director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “Mr Coyle committed a serious breach of trust by using the confidential price sensitive information he received as part of his role at Morrisons for his own personal gain.

“Abuse of inside information in this way undermines the integrity of the UK financial markets. We are committed to prosecuting insider dealing to ensure our markets remain a ‘level playing field’ for all participants.”