UK Financial Conduct Authority: Two Brothers Plead Guilty To Insider Dealing

Between November 2016 and January 2020, Matthew West used confidential, inside, information to deal in shares in four companies: Proactis Holdings Plc, Palace Capital Plc, Concha Plc, and Bushveld Minerals Limited.

Matthew West also disclosed inside information to his brother Nikolas West in relation to a fifth company, Asimilar Group Plc. Nikolas West used this inside information to deal.

The total profits from the dealing were £42,948. 

Matthew West obtained the inside information from brokers that contacted him legitimately. He then disclosed and traded using this information, which is against the law. 

The pair pleaded guilty to 6 instances of insider dealing. They will be sentenced on 3 July 2025 at Southwark Crown Court. The FCA will also apply for confiscation orders in relation to proceeds of crime.

Steve Smart, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight at the FCA, said:

'Matthew West repeatedly tried to make a quick profit at the expense of the rest of the market. As professional investors, the West brothers clearly knew what they were doing was wrong.

'Fighting financial crime is a priority for the FCA. We will clamp down hard on those like the Wests who undermine the integrity of UK markets.'

Background:

1. Matthew West was born 14 March 1981.
2. Nikolas West was born 14 December 1978.
3. Matthew and Nikolas West worked as professional day traders using their own accounts and through companies controlled by them, which is why they received inside information from brokers.
4. Brokers provide legitimate information via ‘wall crossing’. Wall crossing means providing non-public and price-sensitive information to a third party, and it is a legitimate practice in financial markets. When investors are ‘wall crossed’ there is a non-trading and confidentiality agreement in place.
5. As these offences predate 1 November 2021, when the maximum sentence available increased to 10 years, the insider dealing here is punishable by a fine and/or up to 7 years’ imprisonment.
6. Find out more information about the FCA.