The ICAEW has excluded a former company director and accountant from its membership for five years for his involvement in an insider dealing case.
Neten Shah, a chartered accountant based in Edgeware, was sentenced to 18 months in prison back in July 2012. In addition to the five-year ban, the institute fined him £2,500.
He was also banned from the CIOT in 2013 as a result of the same case, and ordered to pay costs of £1,950.
Between November and December 2007 and in May 2008, Shah acquired price-affected securities on the regulated market.
According to the Telegraph Neten and others used sensitive information leaked from the print rooms of two of London’s biggest investment banks, JP Morgan and UBS, to "place trades before takeover bids became public, netting them hundreds of thousands of pounds as share prices moved."
The case was brought by the FCA and resulted in Shah being convicted of two counts of insider dealing in July 2012. He was convicted of two of the six counts against him and sentenced to 18 months custody. He has now served his custodial sentence.
A confiscation order was brought against Shah and others involved in the insider trading by the FCA at Southwark Crown Court last month. He and six others were ordered to repay £3.2m and he was separately ordered to repay a costs order of £100,000.
The ICAEW noted in its October disciplinary list that Shah personally benefited by almost £59,000. The former ICAEW member maintains his innocence, but has not yet appealed the decision.
The tribunal said in sentencing: “Whilst it notes that the offence was not committed in Mr Shah’s professional capacity and that there may be restitution, the tribunal saw no reason to depart from this position, especially given the amount of money involved was substantial."