Cazenove insider dealer gets 21 months

11th Mar 2010 12:09

Malcolm Calvert, formerly a partner at blue-blooded stockbroker Cazenove, has been sentenced to 21 months in jail for insider dealing offences.The 65-year-old was found guilty yesterday of passing confidential takeover information on to an accomplice, Bertie Hatcher, who then profited by trading shares in the companies involved in the mergers. The offences took place between 2003 and 2005, after Calvert had left Cazenove.Hatcher made a profit of £104,000 through dealings in the shares of Vernalis, Johnston Group and South Staffordshire, and shared the windfall with Calvert.Calvert was cleared of insider dealing charges on seven other counts relating to Hatcher's purchases of shares in HP Bulmer, MacDonald Hotels and the RAC.Calvert quit Cazenove, the Queen's stockbroker, in 2000 after a career in the City that spanned 39 years. He was formerly head of market making at the stockbroker, which is now part of JP Morgan. The FSA gave Cazenove a clean bill of health after its investigation into Calvert's trading activities. A spokesman for the broker said: 'There were never any charges brought against Cazenove and no breach of systems and controls was identified.'