Following a sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court, Mohammed Zina, 35, was today jailed for 22 months for insider trading and fraud.
On 15 February 2024, Mohammed Zina was found guilty of six insider trading offenses and three fraud offenses following a 12-week trial at Southwark Crown Court appealed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Sentencing Mr Zina, the Honorable Justice Baumgartner, Recorder of Westminster said:
“You were under no illusions about the importance of confidentiality. You betrayed that trust and defrauded honest traders. This strikes at the heart of the financial markets and the public trust in them.”
The FCA has commenced seizure proceedings against Mr Zina, with a hearing scheduled for 27 September 2024.
Between 2014 and December 2017, Mohammed Zina worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs International. Through his role in the Conflict Resolution Group, which he joined in 2016, he was in possession of confidential information about potential mergers and acquisitions on which his employer was advising.
Between 15 July 2016 and 4 December 2017, Mr Zina traded six shares using this inside information: Arm Holdings plc; Alternative Networks plc; Punch Taverns plc; Shawbrook plc; HSN Inc; and Snyder’s Lance Inc.
The total profit from trading in these shares was approximately £140,486.