Goldman Sachs: Former analyst guilty of insider trading and fraud
A former Goldman Sachs analyst has been found guilty of six counts of insider trading and three counts of fraud following a London trial brought by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Mohammed Zina, 35, was convicted on Thursday following a 12-week trial at Southwark Crown Court and five days of jury deliberation.
Zina worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs International between 2014 and December 2017.
The FCA claimed he came into possession of inside information on potential deals that the investment bank was advising on after joining its Conflicts Resolution Group in 2016.
It added that Zina dealt in six shareholdings using this information between July 2016 and December 2017. The stocks involved were Arm, Alternative Networks, Punch Taverns, Shawbrook, HSN and Snyder’s Lance.
Zina amassed around £140,486 in profit from trading in these stocks, the FCA said, with the trading partly funded by three loans totalling £95,000 fraudulently obtained from Tesco Bank.
He is due to be sentenced on Friday morning.
Steve Smart, the FCA’s joint executive director of enforcement, said: “Mohammed Zina tried to cheat the market for his own personal gain by cynically trading on inside information.
“This conviction sends a clear message that economic crime is on our radar and we will take action to uphold the integrity of UK markets.”
Zina’s trial initially included his brother Suhail, 36, who formerly worked for magic circle law firm Clifford Chance. The judge directed the jury to acquit Suhail on all charges several days before the trial ended.