Overview

The FSA has published a Final Notice announcing the largest fine it has ever imposed against an individual for market abuse. The fine of £967,005 was imposed on Mehmet Sepil, the chief executive officer of Genel Enerji, a Turkish oil exploration company. Sepil dealt in the shares of UKlisted Heritage Oil Plc (Heritage) on the basis of inside information he received from detailed daily reports from Heritage's drilling tests at the Miran oil field in Kurdistan. When the results of the tests were announced, Heritage's share price increased by approximately 25 per cent. The fine includes a £267,005 disgorgement of profits element and a settlement discount of 30 per cent. The actual amount in respect of the penalty element of the fine was therefore £1,000,000.

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