FCA Seek Retrial of Ex-UBS Compliance Officer On Insider Case

The jury in the trial of ex-UBS compliance officer at the Southwark Crown Court was discharged today after failing to reach a verdict. The UK Financial Conduct Authority said it will seek a retrial of former UBS Group AG compliance chief and a day trader, who have been charged with five counts of over a single year.
A further hearing is due to take place in the future to fix a date for the third trial.
Earlier this month, the judge gave the jury a majority instruction which meant it was not necessary for them to reach a unanimous verdict, but they were still unable to reach a verdict.
Last year, the has instituted criminal proceedings against Fabiana Abdel-Malek, 36, and Walid Choucair, 39, charging them with five counts of insider trading between June 2013 and June 2014. The defendants allegedly made £1.8 million in profit through the inside trading of shares of Elizabeth Arden Inc. and four other companies.
Background
The FCA claims that the alleged activities took place on five occasions in which Ms. Abdel-Malek, who had worked in the compliance team of the Swiss bank for over a decade, disclosed “information otherwise than in the proper performance of the functions of his employment, office or profession, to Walid Anis Choucair.”
In turn, Mr. Choucair, of London, is accused by the FCA of using the insider information to deal in securities, the prices of which were affected in the same one-year time period, according to the filings.
A count of in the UK carries a maximum prison term of seven years.
The pair appeared at City of London Magistrates’ Court in June 2017 for the first time to face the allegations.