FCA charges solicitor with five counts of insider dealing
FCA charged Richard Bloomfield with 5 counts of insider dealing tied to the Seraphine Group PLC acquisition while acting as a solicitor at a law firm.
The FCA's prosecution of a solicitor for trading on M&A inside information highlights ongoing enforcement focus on professional gatekeepers. Firms engaging external legal counsel on transactions should reassess confidentiality safeguards and monitoring of adviser-linked trading activity.
Reinforces FCA's willingness to prosecute professional advisers, extending insider dealing risk perimeter beyond issuers and brokers to law firms and consultants.
Action Required
Review controls over handling of material non-public information by external advisers and reinforce insider list and wall-crossing procedures.
Signals continued FCA criminal enforcement priority on market abuse and expands the accountability net to advisory professionals involved in deals.
Insider dealing enforcement against external advisers elevates conduct risk exposure in M&A workflows. RCSA should assess adviser onboarding, insider list governance, and surveillance triggers for adviser-linked trading.
“Richard Bloomfield has been charged by the FCA with 5 counts of insider dealing. The FCA alleges that in his role as a solicitor at a law firm, Mr Bloomfield worked on an acquisition of Seraphine Group PLC and used inside information obtained through his role to deal in securities of Seraphine Group PLC on 5 occasions between 28 March 2022 and 10 January 2023.”