Retired accountant fined in Logica share scam

A man who bought thousands of shares in Logica based on inside information has been fined £35,212 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Retired accountant Kenneth Carver bought 62,000 shares based on information he received from friend Ryan Willmott, who last month pleaded guilty to trading using inside knowledge when Logica was being taken over by CGI Group. 

Willmott, who was previously group reporting and financial planning manager at Logica, was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment.

Shortly after the announcement that CGI had acquired Logica, Carver sold the shares at a profit of more than £24,000. Logica’s share price had by then increased by about 60%.

“Carver knew there was a risk of market abuse but traded anyway,” said Georgina Philippou, acting director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA. “He used his own funds to place a trade on Willmott’s behalf and knew that Willmott had a financial incentive to persuade him to trade.

“Market abuse is a serious offence and this fine reflects the fact that we will not hesitate in taking action against individuals who act on inside information.”

Philippou said the fine was reduced because of Carver’s co-operation with the investigation. He also gave evidence of serious financial hardship and settled early. The FCA said had it not been for this, it would have fined him £122,212.

CGI, a Canadian IT and business process outsourcing company, acquired Anglo-Dutch Logica for £1.7bn in 2012.