Ex-UBS Compliance Officer Charged in Insider Trading Case
(Bloomberg) -- A former UBS Group AG compliance officer was charged by U.K. regulators with passing tips on five occasions to a London man who traded on the information, according to court records.
Fabiana Abdel-Malek, 34, and Walid Choucair, 38, were each charged with five counts of insider dealing between June 2013 and June 2014, a court clerk said by phone Wednesday, reading charges filed by the Financial Conduct Authority. Abdel-Malek, who has a law degree, had worked as a compliance officer at UBS since 2007, according to her LinkedIn profile, where her surname is listed as Malek.
Abdel-Malek disclosed “information otherwise than in the proper performance of the functions of your employment, office or profession, to Walid Anis Choucair," on five separate occasions in the one-year period, according to the charges. Choucair "having information as an insider dealt in securities that were price affected securities in relation to the information" in the same time period, according to the filings read by the clerk.
The FCA has cracked down on insider dealing over the last decade, obtaining more than 30 convictions since 2009. The cases have spanned from employees at high-profile banks and hedge funds to day traders and dentists.
The FCA and a lawyer for Abdel-Malek declined to comment. A lawyer for Choucair didn't immediately respond to a call seeking comment. Court records didn't include any further details about the charges. A spokeswoman for UBS wasn't able to immediately provide a statement.
The pair are scheduled to appear at City of London Magistrates' Court next week for the first time to face the allegations. They were charged in recent weeks at a London police station, the court clerk said. Insider dealing in the U.K. carries a maximum prison term of seven years.
To contact the reporter on this story: Suzi Ring in London at sring5@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser
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